Bike theft spike sparks warning from Kelowna RCMP

KELOWNA – RCMP are advising owners to harden the target of an 'extreme spike' in recent thefts – your bike.

In a release today, May 20, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Joe Duncan says there have been 154 bike thefts reported in Kelowna since the beginning of the year.

Duncan says owners can’t prevent all thefts but can make life difficult enough for would-be bike thiefs that they might move on — to someone else’s bike.

Keeping your ride out of sight and locked up in a garage or storage locker will help keep it out of a thief’s mind. Keep a record of you bike’s stats — serial number, make, model, colour and special parts and take a picture of your bike and save it.

If you have to leave your bike outside, use high-quality locks made of case-hardened steel, your dollar store lock can be cut in seconds. Make sure you lock it to something that can’t be just be picked up and stolen along with your bike. Take quick release parts like wheels and seats with you if practicable.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

John McDonald

John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.

It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.

But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.

If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca

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