Salt Lake Community College students who ride their bicycles to school have a free tool to help recover their property in the event of a theft.
SLCC gives students the ability to register their bicycles with the college. The free service provides a student with a serial number that the Utah Highway Patrol can use to search for a stolen bicycle.
“We saw other colleges and universities doing [a registry] and saw how well it worked for them, so we thought it would be good for [SLCC] to do it as well,” says UHP Lt. Jeff Willmore.
UHP and other agencies have a database that they use to track down stolen bicycles. Any bicycle with a serial number on it will be much easier to recover.
SLCC students like Sione Pilivi have peace of mind after registering their bicycles.
“I feel a lot more secure with this new bike [registration] system,” he says. “[My bike] is my only way of getting home.”
To participate in the program, students need to bring their bicycle and a completed registration form to Parking Services at Taylorsville Redwood Campus or the Utah Highway Patrol office at South City Campus.
SLCC is also working on obtaining bike cages, where only students with bicycles can gain access with their OneCard. The bike cages will be well secured and monitored by cameras at all times.
Until then, UHP recommends a quality U-lock, instead of a leash lock, to help reduce the risk of theft.
