Bike theft a leading crime on campus

In late October, sheriff’s deputies arrested Marc R.

Goodrum as a suspect in the theft of sixteen bicycles on or near

the Boise State campus. Police are using the Goodrum case as an

example to urge students to make use of the campus bike

registry.

Police began an investigation into the case in early October. At

that time, authorities matched serial numbers from a bike taken

from Chaffee Hall to one sold by Goodrum at an area pawnshop.

Following a combined investigative effort by Deputy Stercks and

Deputy Long of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, police

successfully linked a total of 16 suspected thefts to Goodrum.

According to police reports, Goodrum was arrested Oct. 31 on

campus while riding a bike that had been reported as stolen and was

valued at over $1500. Police charged Goodrum with theft by

receiving stolen property – a felony offense – as well

as a misdemeanor of providing false information to an officer.

Investigators in this case attribute a large part of its success

to the fact that they were provided with the serial numbers of some

the bikes that had been stolen. According to deputies, this

information better enabled them to identify and quickly recover the

lost property.

“In this case we really want to get the point

across that the bike registry is of great assistance in the

recovery of stolen property,” said Stercks. “Whenever a

bike is stolen, the serial number is entered into the police NCIC.

Anytime a pawnbroker enters information matching that description

into their computer – as they are required by law – any

stolen property is quickly flagged. We can then recover it and

return it the rightful owner.”

The campus bike registry is a listing of owners along with their

bike’s description and serial number. The registry is free to

BSU students, faculty and staff. Registration can be done at the

Ada County Sheriff’s on-campus substation.

According to campus law enforcement, theft is among the leading

criminal acts that take place on campus. Boise State campus crime

statistics reveal that since 1999, the Boise campus has seen over

200 reported cases of property related crimes. Police say that bike

locks are useful, but not always successful as a theft

preventative.

“Locks and chains aren’t always fail-safe. One of

the things that we would like to get out to the BSU community is

that if you have a bike, have the serial number documented. This

will increase the chances of recovery immensely,” said Sgt.

Olsen of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.

Boise State students, faculty and staff can register their bikes

anytime at the Ada County Sheriff’s substation. The office is

located at the corner of Lincoln and University. For further

information, please call 426-1453.

Brandon Beckham
News Reporter

Related Posts:

1. Bike registration aims to deter theft
2. Bicycle Theft is a big-time crime, but preventable
3. Campus Crime Log
4. Campus crime report: bike theft down 50 percent
5. Boise State crime log: Bike theft, vandalism persist on campus