Cambridge Police, business try to slow surge in bike thefts

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — As Cambridge continues to grow, bike thefts are surging along with it.

Cambridge Police said over the past year more than 200 bikes -- most that were locked -- have been stolen.

"I locked it, went to referee, and I was referring and I looked and I noticed that it wasn't there,” Bruce Martin said.

Martin's bike was taken just this past Monday.

For a bike-friendly town, the crooks in Cambridge have been stealing bikes at a record rate.

Between July 2018 and July 2019, Cambridge Police reported a 78% rise in bike thefts. Of the 230 bikes that were stolen, 168 of them were locked.

Michael Monestime of the Central Square Business Association is one of the people working to thwart this massive problem.

"What we're looking to do is have folks on the ground with an omnipresence, if we can deter that nuisance behavior by having a bigger presence in the square that's the effort we're going to make,” Monestime said.

His group pushed to have 12 people in Central Square to be on the lookout for bike thieves and others committing crimes. This effort will be starting in October.

Though police believe locks are step one in preventing thefts, the truth is they don't always work.

Detective Michael Schwartz said that's why they also have another plan.

"We have what we call bait bikes in the city that the department utilizes. We have several that we can mark up with GPS units and actually track them if they're taken," Schwartz said.

Cambridge Police said bike owners can go even further to protect their bikes, especially in this climate.

"When you buy your bike at the store, take a picture of the bike [and] take a picture of the serial number because without that we can’t return the bike to you should we find it," Schwartz added.

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