The Campus Public Safety office has implemented several new preventative measures when it comes to theft on campus.
According to Environmental Health and Safety Manager Rob Dahl, theft is the number one problem that CPS deals with on the Forest Grove Campus. In 2010, there were 68 reported instances of theft on campus.
Bikes are among the items that are stolen most often from students due to them being left unattended without a bike lock or having cable bike locks that are easily broken.
Dahl said that so far there have been several reports of stolen bikes this semester; however, he didn’t think the number of reports was any greater this year than it has been in the past.
Freshman Giancarlo Battaglia experienced bike theft first-hand this semester.
Battaglia said he left his bike locked behind the main entrance to Walter Hall and after two days he found it was gone.
According to Battaglia, he had locked his bike through the wheels and mainframe but someone still managed to steal it. He said he went to CPS the day he found his bike missing but hasn’t heard about it since.
In cooperation with the Pacific Information Center, CPS has started a bike registration program, which is new to campus this year, to prevent such instances.
At the PIC and CPS headquarters there are registration forms available for any student who owns a bike. The registration form records the serial number of the bike and a picture of the bike, as well as the make and model. This information is then entered into a database where it can be accessed if the bike is located.
“It won’t keep a bike from being stolen, but if the bike is found then the owner can get it back,” said Dahl.
According to Dahl, if a bike isn’t registered, then it is unlikely for someone to get his or her bike back once it is stolen since there is no proof the student actually owned it.
“If it’s found, then the bike probably goes into a storage locker never to be seen again,” said Dahl.
He said that with the bike registration available to students this year, CPS is trying to be more proactive in preventing thefts.
Dahl said that once the bike is registered, the user is given a sticker to put on their bike, which could discourage potential thieves from stealing their model if they know that bike is registered.
He also encouraged bike users to get a U-bolt lock instead of a cable lock because “the bad guys are packing cable cutters.”
The bike registration form isn’t the only preventative measure that CPS has taken to battle theft on campus. They also released a pamphlet this year, which is essentially a property inventory record. Students can make a list of all their valuables with the necessary information needed to identify it and that way they have a reference guide in case one of their valuables is ever stolen.
Dahl encourages students on campus to keep a record of their valuables in case they are ever on the receiving end of a theft on campus.
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