UNM police are assigning low priority to a rash of thefts that left four people wondering who stole their bikes within less than a 30-hour period.
According to police reports and victim statements, the thefts all occurred between 6:30 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 19 and 11:45 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 21. Each of the four thefts had one thing in common: each owner used either a cable lock or a chain with a padlock to secure their bicycles to campus bike racks.
UNM Police Department Cmdr. James Daniels said his department assigns priority to its investigations based upon each case’s individual importance. Priority is given to investigations affecting life or injury of students, faculty or staff. After that, police examine a case’s chance of being solved and the overall value of a damaged or stolen piece of property.
The first of the four bike thefts occurred sometime between 7 a.m. and 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 19. According to the UNM police report, the victim parked her bike at the rack east of the Basic Medical Sciences Building. The victim said she used a cable lock because the University replaced the rack with one that is too wide for her U-shaped lock.
Also according to the report, the victim, an employee at UNM Hospital, said her bike and its lock that was destroyed and taken, were worth more than $530.
A second victim reported to police that someone stole his bike between 5:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. Feb. 19 while it was locked up between Bandelier Hall East and Mitchell Hall.
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The victim said the bike was actually his second one that was stolen in eight days. The second bike was stolen Thursday outside of Dane Smith Hall and the victim said both of them were secured using cable locks.
His first bike, according to the police report, was worth about $1,700. A copy of the first police report was forwarded to the district attorney’s office. The police report for the victim’s second bike was not available by Sunday.
A third victim reported to police that he parked his bike at one of the racks southeast of Zimmerman Library at about 4:30 p.m. on Feb 19. The victim, who also used a cable lock to secure his bike, said he believes his bike was stolen because he left it there overnight and gave the thief plenty of time to cut his lock. He added that he will continue to ride a bike to school and to use cable locks because they are more convenient and practical than U-shaped locks.
According to the police report, the bike’s worth was listed at more than $268. A copy of the police report was forwarded to the district attorney’s office.
The final bike theft occurred sometime between 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. on Feb 20, outside of Zimmerman Library.
The victim said he came to campus to use the library’s resources and when he returned, his bike and the chain he used to secure it with were gone. According to the police report, the bike and its chain were valued at $160.
Daniels said bike owners should exercise caution and common sense when securing their bikes on campus. He added that if students see something suspicious or someone walking around with bolt cutters on campus, they should call UNM police right away just to be safe.
