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15,000 Bikes Stolen In Chicago Since 2010 (And Barely Any Have Been Found)

By  Josh McGhee and Tanveer Ali | April 20, 2016 5:43am | Updated on April 21, 2016 11:47am

Ashley Busse's bike was stolen two years ago outside a restaurant in her West Ridge neighborhood. She now carries two locks for her bike and locks them properly, she said. (DNAinfo/Josh McGhee)

 

UPTOWN — Since 2010, 15,259 bikes have been reported stolen to the Chicago Police Department.

Only 62 have been reported found.

"The problem is, most bikes aren't registered with the city, so our chance to recover it is pretty slim," said Sgt. Jason Clarke, a community policing commander in the Town Hall District.

In Chicago, bikes often are swiped from high-traffic areas near CTA stations or along the North Side lakefront.

And once they're gone, they're gone. Only one in every 250 bikes stolen ever makes its way back to its owner, according to Chicago Police data.

Reporter Josh McGhee shares some tips on keeping your bike safe.

RELATED: The Worst 10 Places To Leave Your Bike In Chicago (MAP)

The Town Hall District — which includes Lakeview and parts of Uptown, Lincoln Square, North Center and Lincoln Park — leads the city in reported bike thefts, likely because the area near the lakefront is "bike-friendly." (The Near North Police District directly to its south ranks second.)

About a year ago, Town Hall police began pushing bike registration to residents, asking bike owners to head to a police station to receive a security decal that would be easy to spot if the bikes are being sold at pawn shops. The free program has since been adopted citywide.

As "more bikes are registered, the better the program will be," Clarke said.

Registration might have helped Ashley Busse of West Ridge find a bike stolen when her little brother borrowed it two years ago.

As her brother placed his order at a neighborhood restaurant, he saw a kid ride off with her bike. Though the theft was caught on camera and police were alerted, Busse never saw her bike again, she said.

"He was crying because he was so young and borrowing my bike. I used it for work and everything. And it was a really nice bike. We're not the kind of people to just call the police, but we did because it was an ordeal," the 18-year-old said. "Now, I carry two locks and make sure I lock them properly."

The effort to recover stolen bikes goes beyond the Police Department, though the success rate remains low.

From April to December of last year, a bicycle thief used bolt-cutters and made off with bikes in 10 separate incidents at five different "L" stops, from Howard Avenue to 95th Street on the Red Line and south along the Orange Line to Western Avenue. A man was arrested in connection to the thefts in December thanks to CTA security footage, a CTA spokesman said.

None of those bikes was recovered.

The folks at Uptown Bikes at 4653 N. Clark St. make an effort to reunite people with their bikes.

"A lot of people have a misconception that my bike isn't worth anything, but you have to gauge how important it is to you," said Nora Gallagher, an employee at the bike shop. "If you want to hang on to it ... you can't overlock your bike. There's no circumstance where you really shouldn't lock your bike."

Keep your bike close. Real close. Or lock it well. (DNAinfo/Josh McGhee)

At the store, customers report stolen bikes running the gamut in value. Employees usually take down a description of the bicycle, any distinguishing marks, serial numbers and a photo of it "to keep an eye out," but also push the customers to report the theft to police, said Maria Barnes, who owns the store.

Gallagher also recommended registering the theft on the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry, a website that provides details on stolen bikes and "puts the community on alert," she said.

"If we recognize a bike, we reference it. We've done that on a couple occasions and reunited the bike with its owner. It's rare, but we've had success stories," Barnes said.

Last weekend, a bike was found abandoned south of the shop on Broadway. After a little snooping, shop workers were able to find its original owner, Barnes said.

"You have to do a little detective work yourself," Barnes said. "Sometimes bike shops put their sticker on [the bike.] I saw it was bought in Grand Rapids, Mich. They cross-referenced the owner, and he's picking it up today."

The map below shows all of the bike theft incidents reported since Jan. 1, 2010. The bigger the dot, the more bikes were stolen from the block. Scroll below the map to see which blocks are the worst for bike thefts and read about the 10 blocks in Chicago that are the worst for bike thefts.

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