Campus Security & Public Safety

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Bike theft is a particular challenge on almost all college campuses. Many students, staff, and faculty like to commute on and around campuses by bike. Cable locks are almost useless in deterring the theft of an expensive bike. Thieves come armed with pocket-sized cable and bolt cutters. Even U-Locks can be compromised with a little effort by bolt cutters, pneumatic jacks, and cordless metal saws. Our best advice to those who want to ride:

• Consider buying a lower-end bike (there are some great used bikes out there for $100-200) to get you around, and make sure you lock it with a U-Lock (NOT a cable lock). We sell U-Locks at the security office if you don’t have one.
• If you want to bring an expensive bike to campus, make sure you have a place to store it inside. Thieves often target newer Specialized, Trek, and Gary Fisher bikes or bike parts, and are difficult to catch because of the relative speed with which they can cut a lock.
• Register your bike with campus security and take a picture of it.
• And, please bring a helmet. It’s the law in Spokane.

Found a great new website that has some good common sense safety tips for both walking and biking, and also the laws regarding crosswalks, bike helmets, etc. Check out StickmanKnows.org: http://www.stickmanknows.org/