North Bay suspect takes the bait, caught stealing bike
A new effort to catch bike thieves in North Bay has proven successful on the first try, police say.
In response to the more than 100 bicycles reported stolen so far in 2023, North Bay Police Service said in a news release Friday it has launched a new "bait bike" project.
The effort serves dual purposes: deter bike thieves and catch suspects in the act of stealing a bicycle.
It didn't take long to catch the first suspect.
"Despite the initiative being launched later than anticipated, we immediately saw results with the bait bike being stolen and one person being charged with theft and breach of probation," Insp. of operations Jeff Warner is quoted as saying in the news release.
The 38-year-old male suspect was arrested on Worthington Street on Dec. 9, Const. Merv Shantz told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca in an email.
He was released from custody on an undertaking.
"Bikes are and will be strategically deployed throughout the city. Our bikes can be tracked, and if you’re caught taking one, you will be arrested and charged accordingly," Warner said.
These types of thefts happen year-round, despite the snow, so the initiative will continue throughout the whole year.
"This might cause offenders to think twice about taking a bike, not knowing if the police are tracking their actions," Warner said.
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Police are asking residents to report any thefts as it helps them decide which areas to target.
Because they are hard to identify, many bikes that are stolen are never recovered and are rarely returned to their owners.
It is recommended that cyclists register their bikes at 529 Garage, a national database of information and photographs that can help police return recovered bicycles.
Last week, North Bay police announced it was changing its policy regarding discarded bikes after the number of unclaimed bicycles in storage surpassed 100.
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