By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
The garage underneath City Hall includes a dark, padlocked area that police call the evidence room.
Currently, 11 stolen bikes and one scooter that were recovered by Sea Isle City police this summer have been placed in the evidence room in hopes they may eventually be reunited with their rightful owners.
“Normally, we have more than this,” Det. Sgt. Nicholas Giordano said of the number of abandoned bikes being held in storage now.
Bike theft is a common problem in many Jersey Shore communities summer after summer, but social media has focused even more attention on the issue lately. Facebook, for instance, is filled with photos of supposedly stolen or abandoned bikes in the streets, on the beaches or in front yards.
Sea Isle Police Chief Anthony Garreffi said this summer isn’t any worse than other years for bike theft. Last summer, 32 bikes were reported stolen in Sea Isle, while this summer, there have been 25 so far.
“We have a few weeks left with summer, so we’re about on the same pace,” Garreffi said, comparing 2023 with 2022 for the total number of stolen bikes. “Typically, there’s no increase or decrease. It’s about average.”
In a simple step to reduce theft, Garreffi has a few words of advice for bike owners to help deter thieves: Buy a good lock.
“My suggestion to bike owners is to own a lock and secure it, no matter if you’re going into a store for two minutes or an hour,” he said in an interview Thursday.
Owners can also help themselves and police by keeping a record of a bike’s make, model and serial number and any distinguishing features such as the color or special markings. All of that information can be registered with police as a safeguard in case a bike is stolen.
“We can run it through the system to see if it’s registered with the city or if it matches the reports of stolen bikes. If they are ever stolen, we have a serial number and a description of the bike,” Garreffi said.
Bike theft is largely “a crime of opportunity,” Garreffi explained. For instance, someone leaving a store, a bar or the beach may not want to walk home, so they will swipe the nearest bike instead and then abandon it once they reach their destination.
“It’s for temporary transportation,” Garreffi said.
Bike theft in Sea Isle usually doesn’t happen at homes, underscoring the effectiveness of placing bikes inside the house, the garage or a locked shed to keep them safe, police say.
Each summer, scores of bicyclists descend on the beach town to take advantage of the gorgeous weather when they are on vacation.
Owners often leave their bikes – unlocked – on the pathways to the beach. Sea Isle’s oceanfront Promenade is another area crowded with bikes, as is the downtown business district.
Garreffi noted that there is no particular hotspot for bike theft: It can happen all around town.
“If your bike’s unlocked, it’s got a good chance of being taken,” he warned.
Charges for bike theft range from a disorderly persons offense to a third-degree crime, depending on the value of the bike. Penalties range from fines to possible jail time.
Garreffi is convinced there are no organized bike-theft rings operating in Sea Isle. Most times, it appears to be teenagers or perhaps bar patrons looking for an unlocked bike that they can easily steal for a ride home, he said.
Garreffi urged owners to contact police immediately if they discover that their bike is stolen. When a bike is reported as abandoned, police or Sea Isle’s code enforcement department will send out a truck to recover it.
Stolen or abandoned bikes recovered by police are stored by the city for six months. If the owners do not reclaim them within six months, the bikes are auctioned off each May by the city.
Until they are auctioned off – or reunited with their rightful owners – the abandoned bikes remain in the evidence room underneath City Hall. The owner of a stolen bike may contact the police department to see if it is being held in storage.
“If your bike gets stolen, report it and we may have it in evidence,” Garreffi said.
Fortunately, the evidence room isn’t as crowded now as it normally is with abandoned bikes, Det. Sgt. Giordano pointed out. With a total of 11 stolen bikes and one scooter now, it is well short of the approximately 60 abandoned bicycles that usually fill the room when the annual auction is held, he said.
