In an effort to lower the bike crime rates and catch bike thieves in the city, the San Francisco Police Department launched the bait bike campaign. So if you see a bike being stolen in the area while a police officer watches, don’t worry, it’s all part of the plan.
What the San Francisco police do is place the bicycles in open areas to lure and then catch bike thieves. When the robbers steal the bike, they would think they can get away with the crime because no one follows them. What the culprits don’t know is that the particular bike is equipped with an anti bike theft device.
The Bait Bike Campaign
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Street Films
Using the GPS tracking system, the police officers—in civilian clothes—track the thieves, take pictures of them, and then post it on their Twitter account (@SFPDBikeTheft). They would usually caption the photo with something like “Normally, when I see this I would feel sorry for the owner. Not this time. #thankYou4TakingOurBaitBike” to shame the thieves.
The bait bike campaign was successfully launched by the San Francisco law enforcement agency with help from a local organization called SAFE Bikes, which aims to educate bike owners on how to properly protect their bikes from thieves. In fact, if you visit SFPD’s Twitter page, not only will you see mugshots of bike thieves who got caught but also anti bike theft tips. The group also advises owners to put “Is this a bait bike?” stickers on their bike to discourage thieves from taking their property.
Electric Bike Report
Apart from San Francisco, other cities and school campuses have also adopted the bait bike campaign or similar method in cracking down bike thieves. Maybe it’s time for you to follow this method and install a GPS tracker on your bike. Try our Trackimo tracking device.
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