The North Bay Police Service is working to combat bike thefts in the North Bay area.
Police Chief Daryl Longworth says he wants cyclists and bike thieves to know they are watching.
Late in June, NBPS revealed a new Bait Bike program which captured its first bike thief.
"Part of it is the education, bike theft has been a problem in this community and it has been communicated to us that it is a significant problem so we have done some covert things," said Longworth.
"We do have some bait bikes we put out there that are tracked. We have people watching them.
"We have heard anecdotally again through feedback that some people have talked about, 'Oh, you better not touch that bike it could be the cops,' so absolutely we will put the message out there," added Longworth.
See related: Bait bike 'nets cops' first thief
Longworth won't give out any secrets about the Bait Bike program, but he admits they are targeting bike thieves in North Bay.
"We can track them, we won't tell you how we track them so people cannot defeat that and we do have visible observations on them as well," said Longworth.
Jeff Warner, Inspector of Operations with NBPS says it is working.
“Despite the initiative being launched later than anticipated, we immediately saw results with the bait bike being stolen and one person being charged with theft and breach of probation," stated Warner.
Police estimate more than 100 bikes were reported stolen in North Bay in 2023.
Bike owners are also encouraged to register their bikes with 529 Garage, a national database of photos and information and individualized stickers for each bike, which the North Bay Police Service can access to return stolen bikes.
Longworth also believes locking up bikes helps too.
"Traditionally if people can lock their bikes up and do whatever they can to prevent the theft, there is a good chance the bike may not get stolen," said Longworth.
"If it is left out in the open like these bait bikes are, people of crime of opportunity will take it."
