Bicycles stolen across campus
By Johanna Mitchell
Thirteen bicycles have been reported stolen from campus since Oct. 1, a recent bout of thefts Campus Safety believes is the work of two or three thieves working together, said Campus Safety Assistant Director Phil Beltran.
Bike owners on campus have left themselves vulnerable to theft, said Beltran. Students are making the job easier for thieves by purchasing cheap, thin lock systems or even leaving their bikes unlocked.
All disabled bike locks in the past month have been thin chains or cables less than 1/4 inch in diameter, said Beltran. The thin chains and cables are easily destroyed by bolt cutters, simple construction tools widely available at hardware stores.
Every bicycle rack on campus has been targeted, from Schott Stadium to the Music and Dance Facility. The only rack that has fallen victim to theft twice is Bannan Engineering Center.
Beltran said the bike thieves may be stealing the bikes to resell them online. Most of the bicycles reported stolen were high quality mountain bikes. "I would imagine bike thefts would occur more frequently on campus," said Lt. Mike Sellers, a Santa Clara police spokesman.
Santa Clara is not the only school in the area experiencing a rash of bike thefts. San Jose State University crime reports cite 15 bike thefts in September.
Students and faculty may be seeing the perpetrators, who can go unnoticed while casing the area or moving from rack to rack, "hidden in plain sight" among students, said Beltran.
"Most of the thefts are occurring during the daylight hours," he said.
Beltran added that all members of the university community must be vigilant and take the proper precautions if crimes like these are going to be prevented.
Director of Campus Safety Charlie Arolla sent an advisory e-mail to the university community on Friday, briefing students and faculty of the situation and offering tips to bicycle owners.
In the e-mail, Arolla warned against leaving bicycles in racks for extended periods of time and recommended the use of heavy-duty cables and padlocks.
Campus Safety and Santa Clara police are urging bike owners to purchase case-hardened U-bolt locks, which are rigid and not easily penetrable.
Beltran said Campus Safety is currently in the process of reviewing the thefts and searching for solutions, collaborating with police to discuss preventative measures for thefts of this kind. He declined to specify what these measures might entail.
Students or faculty are asked to report any suspicious persons or activity to Campus Safety at (408) 554-4441 or the Santa Clara police at (408) 615-5580.
Contact Johanna Mitchell at (408) 554-4546 or jjmitchell@scu.edu.