Santa Cruz: Bike thefts still a problem

Bike thefts are no stranger to those who ride in Santa Cruz. Bicycle thefts are one of the city’s most popular crimes with nearly $1 million worth of bikes stolen this past year. Thousands of people use bikes to get around Santa Cruz every day. The problem is many of those riders have had their bike stolen or they’ve witnessed an attempt.

“I’ve had one bike stolen, approximately the place we’re sitting at right now. It was one individual sitting right next to my bike, about 10 feet away, and he took it. I chased him down, knocked him down and got the bike back,” said David Cherryholmes.

So far this year, there have been 155 bike thefts worth an estimated $300,000. Danielle Crane of Santa Cruz said she’s afraid to invest in a bike because of the ongoing problem.

“I don’t want to put a lot of money into buying a bike just to have it stolen. And the hassle of having to lock it up in a special way to get each tire and the frame, it’s just more hassle than it feels like its worth,” said Crane.

Police said sometimes bike owners will come back to the bike racks only to find pieces of their bike missing while thieves part the rest out for profit.

“We come across abandoned bicycles that we really question the ownership of daily,” said Santa Cruz Deputy Chief of Police, Rick Martinez.

Police said they recover up to 600 bikes a year and 90 percent of them are unregistered.

“We’re really excited to launch this online bicycle program that is free to residents in the city of Santa Cruz and this online bicycle registration is going to be available to city of Santa Cruz bike shops,” said Santa Cruz spokesperson, Joyce Blaschke

Spokesman Bicycles is one of the many shops learning how to use the new online registration system. The department is hopeful the site will lower the number of recovered bikes they have to haul away.

“Bike thefts are a crime of opportunity so lock those bikes up,” said Blaschke.

Police suggest riders use the city’s bike lockers, if none are available then lock up on the bike racks using a u-lock. Police said the worst thing anyone can do is leave their bike unattended and unlocked as it only takes seconds for a thief to pedal away.

PREVIOUS STORY:

Bicycle thefts are nothing new in Santa Cruz. They are among the city’s most popular crimes. Last year, nearly $1 million worth of bikes were stolen.

KION’S Brandon Castillo first reported on the thefts in 2015. Tonight, he revisits the story to see if things have gotten better or worse.