Aug 19, 2008 8:21 pm US/Mountain
Breckenridge Sees Spike In Bike Thefts
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) ―
People hoping to save money on gas are increasingly riding their bikes, but in Breckenridge thieves are taking advantage of the trend towards two wheels.
Police say they are not entirely sure, but some think one group is behind the bike thefts. They said it's difficult to tell because they are not seeing any trends or patterns in the bike thefts.
So far more than $18,000 worth of bikes has been stolen.
"This is the first summer that we've had this many reported to us," Kim Green with Breckenridge police said.
Some bikes were not locked and were easy targets, while others had their locks cut, and others had been taken in busy public areas at random.
"We haven't necessarily seen any trend in the crime or any commonalities," Green said. "Bikes have been taken sometimes in the day, sometimes in the evening."
New software called leadsonline.com is helping detectives look for the stolen bikes, although so far those taken have yet to show up in the database.
"We put in the search criteria and they go and search pawn shops and sites like eBay and craigslist to see if the criteria that we put in there matches anything that they are finding in terms of what people are selling on those sites," Green said.
Pawn shops are required to keep a database of items that are pawned.
The most recent thefts were last week when two bikes were stolen.
The bike values have ranged from $200 to $5,000.
Police suggest bikers use locks with a steel cable to stop or slow down the thieves. The also recommend locking them to something stationary.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
People Rocked By Sex Scandals
Click to enlarge
316,000 Bongs Disguised As Ornaments
Obama Sculpture Does A Cool Trick
Slideshow: Colorado's Weirdest House
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments