Bike thieves are on a roll in the city

LACONIA — The arrest of a Laconia resident in connection with the theft of two performance bicycles offers a snapshot of a chronic and widespread problem, according to Chief Matt Canfield.

“We’ve had a lot of bike thefts in the city. It’s always an issue,” Canfield said.

This year alone the department has investigated reports of 47 stolen bicycles. But Canfield pointed out that the department is holding 90 bicycles that have been found around the city this year, and he surmises that “most or all are most likely stolen.”

On Thursday, Canfield said that just the night before, two bicycles were taken off porches of local residences. Fortunately, someone who saw what was happening confronted the thieves, who then abandoned the bikes and ran off.

Laconia police arrested Robert E. Leroux, 49, of Endicott Street North in Laconia on Tuesday, and charged him with two counts of receiving stolen property and a charge of theft by deception — all felonies — in connection with the theft of two mountain bicycles. One of the bikes was valued at $3,500, the other at $4,500, Canfield said.

In most cases bikes that are stolen are disassembled in order to sell their parts.

“It’s a pretty big industry,” the chief said.

The problem is nationwide.

Over the past two decades, bike theft in North America has grown to epidemic proportions — affecting about 2 million riders each year, according to J. Allard, founder of Project 529. The bike registry service estimates that only 1 in 5 stolen bikes are actually reported to the police. Beyond the half-billion dollar cycling black market, many stolen bikes are involved in secondary crimes — serving as a modern “getaway vehicle” for criminals, Allard says on the organization’s website.

Canfield said the best precautions bike owners can take is to ensure that their bikes are secured with either U-lock or chain lock, which are hardest to cut. Besides a heavy-duty lock, owners should register their bicycles with the police department, complete with the bike’s serial number. This information improves the chances that if the bike is found it can be returned to its owner.

If the 90 bicycles that are currently in the police department’s impound lot are not claimed in the coming weeks, they will be sent to the state’s surplus property facility in Concord where they will be auctioned off.

Canfield believes that communities like Laconia which have more foot traffic than smaller communities see more bicycle thefts because people walking around are more likely to spot unattended bicycles they can then try to steal.

“A lot of people travel on foot. So if they see a bike on a front porch at 2 a.m., they take it,” he said.