With a high concentration of bicycles and larges crowds to hide in, campuses and universities have been a favorite target for bike thieves. Sometimes they take just one, sometimes a crew comes and cleans out a whole rack. Now campus police at the University of Minnesota are fighting back with “bait bikes.”

These are bicycles which the police have been embedded with a GPS tracking device and lock up at racks around campus. A sensor in the back detects movement and sends a signal to the police. They then follow the signal back to the lair of the bike thieves.

There’s nothing worse than being late for your next class and your two-wheeled ride that was supposed to jet you across campus is gone. The sting op has already netted arrests.

For bikes without “LoJack,” police recommend using a U-lock instead of a cable lock, or finding ways to lock bikes within locked or limited access areas.

Reader Andrew writes, “These bikes and the program were invented and first used by the University of Wisconsin Madison Police department. They have shared the technology and techniques with other departments. University of Minnesota was one of these agencies.”

‘U’ Campus Police Catch Thief With GPS Bait Bike [CBS Minnesota]

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