Last week, a series of bike thefts caught students’ attention. From Aug. 31 – Sept. 6, four bikes and a pair of bike wheels were stolen off Trinity University’s campus, two from areas near the first-year dorms.
Anais Bowerman, first-year engineering major, whose bike was taken, spoke about the impact the theft had on her.
“It felt like a piece of my identity had been taken,” Bowerman said. Although Bowerman took precautions, “I had a hefty U bar lock” she said “it didn’t deter them at all.” “The issue is that it’s so widespread that even people who use high security of their own can’t guarantee their bike won’t get stolen,” Bowerman said.
In order to prevent future thefts, Bowerman is working to find a more permanent solution to the problem.
“We reached out to multiple officials in the school because we wanted to increase security for people who don’t have private balconies on campus and don’t have access to a safe place to store their bike,” Bowerman said. “We’re trying to prompt people to improve the security measures that are already in place, but to also increase education and awareness about the likelihood of their bike getting stolen. Because four getting stolen in one day is ridiculous.”
When asked about TUPD’s response to the theft, Bowerman noted their proactivity in handling the situation. “Considering I registered my bike beforehand, which they said is something that people rarely do, they were really committed to actually helping out and making sure that it gets found,” Bowerman said.
While at the time of her initial interview with the Trinitonian Bowerman’s bike was still missing, earlier this week it was recovered with the help of TUPD. “Having my bike back has been a dream come true,” Bowerman later said. “It’s a miracle that we were able to find it at all.”
In light of the recent thefts, TUPD Officer Paul Chapa stated that he is leading TUPD efforts to prevent future encounters.
“Once we have identified a crime or a series of crimes that has occurred on campus, we’ll implement what we identified as directed patrol,” Chapa said. “Which means we’ll bring officers on duty outside of the normal shift to focus on, in this case, bike racks.”
He stated this additional attention is intended to ensure any suspicious activity near bike racks is addressed. “We have officers that are actively on patrol making sure that we’re hitting the bike racks … during the day and in the evening as well,” Chapa said.
Regarding action steps students can take to prevent their bikes from being stolen, Chapa recommended metal U-locks and registering bikes with TUPD. However, he also noted that there is little that can be done to stop a determined thief.
“We do have QR codes next to our bike racks that encourage the students to scan that code and login and register your bike so we can have all of your identifiers to include your serial number,” Chapa said. “Regardless, if they want to take your bike, they’re going to take your bike.”
While these thefts are the first of the year, the problem is ongoing. Max Lynch, senior finance major, had his bike stolen when he was a first-year at Trinity. He said he took protective measures to ensure his bike’s safety.
“I registered it [the bike] with the QR codes that they have around campus,” Lynch said. “I had a bike lock as did many of the other bikes.” Even with these precautions, Lynch said “I walked past like that area [with the bikes] … and there were no bikes left.” When asked about TUPD’s response, he said, “I think I remember reporting it and they were like, they’re going to look into it. But, I never ended up hearing anything back about it,” Lynch said. “TUPD’s response was pretty much like, even though you registered your bike … we can’t do anything.”
As thefts continue, some Trinity students are advocating for other solutions to the problem. Elliot Conely, senior geoscience major, has been biking for all four years at Trinity and is advocating for more bike racks indoors. “There’s no indoor storage, which is annoying. …Because even if there’s not a crime thing, it’s still not great for your bike to be left outside all day, every day.”
At the time of this article, two of the stolen bikes have been recovered. Two suspects have been identified and the search is ongoing.
