In the first three weeks of the spring semester, six incidents of theft at bike racks were recorded in the crime logs of the State Center Community College District police department.

According to the SCCCD police department call log, in the fall semester of 2012 15 bikes were reported stolen at various areas around the FCC campus.

Bike theft continues to be a major problem on the FCC campus and surrounding neighborhoods. Students, faculty members and local business owners complain that very little is done to combat the stealing of bicycles at FCC.

“It’s not just prevalent here, it’s prevalent everywhere,” said Officer Chris Caldwell of the SCCCD police. “If you talk to somebody from Fresno [police department], they have a lot of problems with bike thefts within the city too.”

Many FCC students and staff say they are concerned about the high numbers and the frequency of bike theft on this campus. The Associated Student Government has formed a Bike Theft Committee which meets at noon every Wednesday to explore different ways to combat the problem as well as to seek solutions.

Bike Theft Committee member Felix Figueroa is a victim of bike theft.

“I just had a wire or a cable as a lock and I was very careless with it. It was only a matter of time before my bike was stolen,” Figueroa said.

Chris Tobey, a graphic communication major, is also a victim of bike theft. His bike was stolen from the Math and Science building last year. He had only been away from his bike for an hour.

Tobey filed a police report but never received a response. He said the police officer handled the situation “very casually, like it’s an everyday happening.”

Caldwell says it’s difficult to catch a thief on an open campus like FCC. “[Bike thieves] look like students, and they walk to a bike rack and pull a short-cutter and make it look like they’re taking their lock off, and instead they cut it and ride off,” Caldwell said.

“It’s been getting worse, especially in the weeks after Christmas,” said Chris Eacock, owner of Tower Velo, a bike shop in the Tower District.

“Each bike is not worth much economically, but it’s devastating to the bike rider,” Eacock added.

Brian Calhoun, instructor and member of the academic senate rides his bike to school. Calhoun said he too is concerned about the frequency of bike thefts on campus. He suggests that cyclists keep an eye on their bikes at all times.

He also said that the student government should do more, including exploring options that would offer FCC students additional protection from bike theft.

“Students who really want their bikes protected would be willing to pay a fee that would allow you to take your bike to a bike kiosk,” Calhoun said. “You would still lock your bike up and have someone watching it.” He added the plan could be discontinued if “students don’t take advantage of it.”

The ASG committee favors using one storage location for all of the bikes on campus. ASG member and Bike Committee chair, Emily Rivera said, “We looked at corrals, which are outdoors, but they are enclosed areas. There are some around Fresno at elementary schools.”

Rivera said the committee is also looking at other options. “It’s a long term project and I know it looks like we haven’t gotten anything done, but these things take time.”

The committee’s main concern is that those who ride their bikes to FCC “feel safe that they can go to class and walk out and their bike will still be there.” Rivera also cautions, “There is no guarantee that it is going to work 100 percent but the goal is to just reduce it.”

Chris Tobey also said he now avoids using certain bike racks because the areas lack security cameras.

The National Bike Registry website states “The victims of bicycle theft tend to be people who use their bicycles: students, commuters, hobbyists, hard-core riders, and children” and that “most bikes are stolen from places owners assume are safe.”

The wide scope of crime means bikes of all prices are targets. Bikes have different price ranges starting from low-end bikes that cost $100 to higher-end bikes that cost thousands of dollars. It is also difficult to keep statistics. The National Bike Registry website reports that “most information about bike theft comes from journalists and is anecdotal at best.”

Caldwell said, “We have had all kinds of people do that [steal bikes], from older guys to student-aged people.”

The best piece of advice from the SCCCD police and the Bike Theft Committee is for bike owners to make sure the lock their bikes as securely as possible.  Rivera and Caldwell both advise bicyclists to use two U-locks to fasten the bike to the racks. Caldwell said, “We like to tell people to buy those tempered u-shaped locks or a ‘New York chain’ the heavily tempered big link chains wrapped in canvas.”

He said the SCCCD is working hard to prevent bike theft on campus. “We’ve identified some people as potential bike thieves,” he said. “And we are on the lookout for them.”