MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – With so many people riding bikes in the Twin Cities during the summer and winter months, you see them locked up on racks all over the place.
But hundreds of them are still stolen every year. Just last year alone, 815 bikes were reported stolen.
Now the city of Minneapolis has come up with a new way to help people get their bikes back if they are stolen.
In late May, Minneapolis Police launched an online bicycle registration program.
You enter in your contact information and the serial number of your bicycle; that way if it’s stolen and police find it, they can return it to you.
If police can’t locate the owner of a bike, they eventually auction it off.
“They end up in a warehouse in south Minneapolis, and our property and evidence staff works hard to look at bikes with their descriptions that have been stolen, misplaced or lost, whatever,” said John Elder of Minneapolis Police.
Sometimes when bikes are stolen, people don’t even report them missing because they don’t have the serial number handy.
Also, registering your bike would be helpful if you were injured in a crash. Emergency workers could quickly identify you and call your family.
People who live in Minneapolis can register it online or by calling 311. Already 1,800 people have done it.
Where’s the serial number typically located on a bike? It’s on the bottom of the crank shaft or on the fork supporting the handle bars.
