Campus Safety catches bike thief on campus

By Johanna Mitchell

For the first time this year, Campus Safety caught an alleged bike thief.

San Jose resident Alden Garcia, 36, was arrested and cited on suspicion of possession of burglary tools last Thursday, April 17, said Lt. Mike Sellers, Santa Clara police spokesman. Garcia had not been charged with theft at press time.

Earlier that morning, a campus security camera revealed a man stealing a bicycle that had been locked near Swig Residence Hall.

Several hours later, Garcia was recognized by a Campus Safety officer as matching the suspect's physical description and clothing.

The officer tailed the suspect across campus on a Segway, detained him and alerted Santa Clara police, said Phil Beltran, assistant director of Campus Safety.

The bicycle that Garcia allegedly stole that morning marked the 58th bike theft on campus this academic year.

The bicycle has not yet been recovered, said Beltran, adding it's not uncommon for thieves to quickly sell stolen property.

"The moment they get (bicycles), they turn them over," said Beltran, citing the reselling of stolen items on Craigslist.com as an example.

Santa Clara is not the only university in the nation with a bike theft problem.

Stanford has had over 250 bicycles and bicycle parts stolen this academic year, said Beltran.

He said this figure is likely high because of the university's sprawling campus and large student body.

Beltran attended the California College and University Police Chief Association's annual conference in South Lake Tahoe last week, where he engaged in dialogue with his counterparts at other schools about bike thefts.

Campus Safety is enlisting the help of students in keeping their possessions safe.

The chief responsibility of bike owners is selecting an appropriate lock because, as Beltran puts it, "bike racks are only as good as the lock that's put on them."

Over 90 percent of bicycles stolen this year were locked with simple cable locks and chains, low-quality devices that Beltran said can be cut in a matter of seconds with cable cutters.

Campus Safety recommends using rigid U-Bolt locks, which are more difficult, though not impossible, to break.

In at least one case, an older model of a U-Bolt lock was jimmied, Beltran said.

However, more recent models of the rigid lock can only be forcibly removed through the use of a torch, which is the way Campus Safety removes bicycles that are locked in prohibited areas.

There are more than 40 bike racks on campus, said Campus Safety Director Charlie Arolla, but students sometimes opt to use handrails, fences and light poles to anchor their bicycles.

The current racks don't come without problems. Arolla said the "clamshell" models, located in several areas, including the Bannan engineering quad, are outdated.

"If they are used as they were designed, it is virtually impossible to take that bike. But today's bikes don't always fit," Arolla said.

The search for updated racks is underway, said Beltran.

Also under consideration are locked bike "cages," enclosed areas locked or monitored by security which are currently being used at San Jose State. Santa Clara currently has one small fenced area that is reserved for staff and faculty who commute via bicycle.

When it comes to bike thefts, owning a higher quality bike does not necessarily mean there is a higher risk of theft, said Vice Provost for Student Life Jeanne Rosenberger.

Thieves seem to be avoiding the most expensive bicycles in favor of middle-of-the-road models, which are easier to resell online, said Rosenberger.

Santa Clara County Fire Department provides a registry service for bicycle owners. An unregistered bike, said Beltran, is nearly impossible to track.

Contact Johanna Mitchell at (408) 554-4546 or jjmitchell@scu.edu.