Recently, some good news happened. With the help of some Good Samaritan neighbors, a semiprofessional bicycle theft was thwarted, and the alleged thief apprehended.
Kevan and Andrea Wiser noticed that a man in an SUV was cruising slowly through the back alley behind their home. He stopped and went into the backyard of one of the Wisers' neighbors.
Andrea called out to her husband to go see what this unknown man was doing.
When Kevan went out to confront the man, he noticed the man stealing a bicycle from the neighbor's backyard. Also, he could see that the SUV was full of children's and adult bikes.
Wiser yelled out to the man, but the robber got into his SUV and proceeded to drive down the alley.
Luckily, the alley was blocked by some construction vehicles, so the alleged robber had to turn around and come back through the alley.
The quick-thinking Kevan grabbed his digital camera and was snapping pictures of the alleged robber, the vehicle and the license plate as the SUV sped past.
In the meantime, Andrea was calling the police.
The police were able to spot the SUV. A chase ensued along Mercer Street, which ended in a crash, and the robber was arrested.
This time the good guys won.
I called Terrie Johnston, a crime- prevention coordinator for the Seattle Police Department, and found out quite a bit about bike theft in Queen Anne and Magnolia.
"Bike theft is epidemic," Johnston told me. "It's a quick crime, and there are two definite theft areas: a college campus [Seattle Pacific University] and a great number of apartment buildings."
A large number of bikes are stolenfrom apartment balconies, so if you keep your bike out there, lock it to the railing, or it could turn up missing in the morning.
"Secure" garages and storage areas aren't all that secure, either. There's a surprising amount of theft from them because of a large number of people, some of them unauthorized, moving through them.
Upon obtaining a bicycle, the first thing you should do is record its serial number. This number is the bike's fingerprint; they're all different.
Remember the guy with the SUV full of stolen bicycles? What happened to all of those bicycles? Turns out the police department's evidence locker is overflowing with bikes they can't return.
The bikes probably will be sold at an annual auction for charity because their serial numbers weren't on the department's list of stolen bikes.
Bike theft isn't a small crime; all thefts should be reported. The Seattle Police Department seriously wants to recover and return your stolen bike to you - bicycles are expensive - but without the serial number your chances of getting your bicycle back are slim.
Bike theft is an easy crime. The thing you have to do is make your attractive target more of a hassle to snatch than the next one.
There are a lot of alternative targets, with 1.5 million bikes stolen every year.
An unlocked bike is a quick, easy target. If you can see it, the bike's in danger of being stolen.
Get a good lock. The hardened steel ones that have a big, closed, U-shape are highly recommended.
Don't lock just the front wheel to something, or you'll return to find only your wheel. Lock the bike in a high position, such as between the frame tubes and the rear wheel.
Locking it low provides something immobile, the ground, to brace against while trying to pry apart the lock. Ideally, you want to lock the bike to a steel banister.
you have any further questions about crime prevention, Johnston urges you to call her at the Seattle Police Department at 684-4741.
There is talk of a National Registry being formed for stolen bicycles.
But once again, the vital components are your bike's serial number and reporting the crime. Unless you are able to identify that number, all hope of recovering your bike dims.
