In their boldest move yet, bike thieves plaguing SF State managed to break into the locked Bike Barn over Thanksgiving break and make off with yet another bicycle.

Thieves have made SF State their hunting grounds this semester, with this incident pushing the number of stolen bicycles up to 32 since August -- the highest it's been in years. This most recent theft adds an exclamation point to the severity of a problem that has already cost students nearly $15,000 in missing bicycles.

If the current trend continues, by the end of the semester the number of stolen bikes may reach an amount twice as large as the 21 stolen in the spring. Additionally, more bicycles have been stolen this semester alone than in the entirety of 2008.

This trend has caught the eye of the Department of Public Safety, which has responded by directing more patrol officers to focus on areas where bikes are parked.

According to Deputy Chief of Police Reggie Parson, University police believe a group of individuals are possibly moving from campus to campus and have currently set up shop at SF State.

Parson said University police have some leads in the ongoing investigation.

"They change colleges and universities by semesters," Parson said. "It's very likely that other campuses got hit harder during the spring while others didn't."

Officer Rachele Hakes, public information officer for the City College of San Francisco Police Department, said that CCSF is not experiencing an increase in bike theft.

According to Hakes, bicycle larceny has been comparatively low the past two semesters and is not currently a troubling issue on campus. Hakes said that typically, once law enforcement agencies take notice and focus resources on the problem, the suspects move to another campus.

"If they're hitting (SF State), then you'll push them over to us because it becomes more profitable," Hakes said. "It goes in spurts."

University police have released an informational bulletin around campus advising cyclists to park their bikes in well-lit areas such as the heavily monitored bike racks, use hardened padlocks and alloy steel chains and to take a piece of their bike with them to class, such as the seat or a wheel.

University police have also recommended students use the staffed Bike Barn, an enclosed, valet-type bike parking service located behind the gym that until Nov. 19 had never been broken into.
Bike Barn employee Serge Dushey, 20, said that someone cut the lock that secures the entrance gate and then left with a $400 bicycle, according to University police.

"Thieves will target expensive brands of bicycles even if it is parked and locked on any of the bike racks on campus," Parson said.

According to Parson, six bikes were reported stolen in the spring semester of 2008. The following fall, there were 18. Now, combining the 21 from last spring with the 31 this semester -- 52 students are missing a bicycle in 2009, and the rest are being urged to take serious precautions regarding where and how they park their rides.

Cyclist and cell biology major Tim Marzec, 24, said that he has seen cyclists in New York cover their high-end frames in tape or grease to make them seem less valuable.

"The most common reason for bike theft is that people don't know how to park their bikes," Marzec said. "Luckily, I didn't have to learn the hard way."

Marzec rides his bike to school five days a week, and has never felt nervous about getting his bike stolen. He uses a cable lock in addition to a hardened U-lock and locks them through the frame and wheels simultaneously. He said that they key to keeping his bike safe while parked on campus is to make the prize seem as inaccessible as possible to potential criminals.

"You want to make it like a mental deterrent," Marzec said. "The more s*** they see on your bike, the better."

Marzec said that on days where he is on campus for 10 hours or more, he uses the bike barn for the added security and weather protection. However, he was unaware of it until this year.