D.C. police are using bait bikes to catch thieves who they believe are responsible for a spike in property crimes in and around Capitol Hill neighborhoods.
Last week, police teams placed two unsecured bikes on the 600 block of H Street Northeast. In less than an hour, the bikes were stolen five times.
“We didn’t have to wait 10 minutes,” said 1st Police District Commander David Kamperin. In one instance, police busted two thieves who rode off together.
Of the first 10 bicycle theft arrests, seven of the suspects had extensive criminal histories, ranging from burglary to robbery to assault, Kamperin said.
The bikes were valued at more than $300, so each suspect was charged with felony theft.
Police do not know yet whether the suspects who were snagged in the bait bike operation are responsible for a recent rash of stolen bikes in the 1st District. East of 13th Street Southeast, the area around Potomac and Pennsylvania avenues has been hit hard. Thieves have made off with unsecured bikes left in backyards and used bolt-cutters to snap thin chains attached to racks, he said.
Kamperin said he doesn’t know if the spike in bike thefts is related the fact that people are increasingly using two wheels instead of four due to the near-$4 gas prices. He launched the bait bike operation simply because he had received numerous stolen bike complaints and because thefts of all kinds have gone up, he said.
The bike thefts are connected to the other property crimes, he said. The criminal who steals a bike is the same criminal who will break into a car or walk into an unlocked home or rob a person who isn’t paying attention to their surroundings, he said. Kamperin cited a study that showed that one person arrested for theft from autos is usually responsible for at least 12 other thefts from autos during the same period.
“He’s looking for the easiest crimes of opportunity,” Kamperin said
