Campus Security and Emergency Services wishes to advise the campus community of an increase of bike thefts on campus. Due to a large amount of bikes returning to campus since the start of classes, there has been an increase of individuals attending campus with the intention to steal bikes. CSES has received two reports recently of bike racks being tampered/compromised in order to assist with the theft of a bike locked to the rack. This is concerning behaviour as it makes it difficult to prevent bikes from being stolen even if secured properly with a quality lock. If you see any suspicious individuals or behaviour around bike racks on campus, please contact us immediately at 613-533-6111 (36111 internal), or using any blue light emergency phone, to make a report. If you find your bike has been stolen, please contact us at 613-533-6080 (36080 internal) to make a report, and make a report with Kingston Police on their website.
Bike theft is a major problem in the City of Kingston, and we recommend you take as many steps as possible to protect your bike from theft:
- First, be sure to record the serial number of your bike and register it on the Kingston Police bicycle registry. There are also community bicycle registration programs such as 529 Garage that can help increase the chance of your bike being found once stolen.
- Second, be sure to purchase a sturdy U-Lock and/or heavy steel chain lock to secure your bike. A vast majority of bike thefts occur with bikes secured by cable locks. Thieves are known to carry bolt cutters on their person, and can easily cut through a cable lock in seconds. While any sort of lock can but cut through with enough effort and determination, a U-Lock will better deter thieves due to the amount of effort required to cut through the lock.
- Third, be sure to secure your bike in a well lit and well travelled space. Queen’s also offers a secure bike compound for students, staff, and faculty.
- Finally, take care in how you secure your bike. It is best to secure both your wheels and frame to the rack. Using both a U-Lock and heavy chain lock in tandem to secure both wheels and the frame to a rack would be the best. However, if you are only able to secure one wheel the front is often easier to secure with the frame, but keep in mind the rear wheel is more expensive to replace if stolen. Most bikes have “quick release” tires, where the tire can be removed from the frame without the use of tools. If only the wheel is secured to a bike rack, thieves can and will take the rest of the bike and leave the secured tire.
If you require any additional information on bike theft protection, or images to see how best to secure your bike, check out the page on our website, the City of Toronto’s page on bike theft prevention, and Commuter Services at Queen’s. There is also a Secure Bike Compound on main campus.