"Lock up your bike or it may be stolen!" Published March 26, 2008 5th Security Forces Squadron MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Every year people learn a hard lesson. The lesson is if you don't lock your bicycle up it's going to get stolen! Every spring kids and adults start riding their bicycles to school and work. This is always followed by an increase in bike thefts. The same bike theft trends emerge each year and 99.9 percent failed to lock up their bicycle, or it was left lying around somewhere. Just look around and you will see bikes left lying all around the base. In most case the suspects only took the bike because it was unlocked and it was faster to get somewhere. Don't be a victim of bicycle theft! Take these simple steps to prevent having your bicycle stolen. · Keep your bicycle locked at all times, and use a strong lock. A locked bike stops the impulsive person and a strong lock deters the determined thief. · Lock your bicycle correctly. Lock the frame and tires to the bicycle rack. Often, a thief will take a tire from one improperly-locked bicycle and the frame from another. The thief now has one fully-functional bicycle, and two owners now have only parts remaining to their bicycles. If you have any parts attached with a quick-release mechanism, be sure to lock these to the frame and to the rack. · Engrave your bicycle with your drivers' license number. If your bicycle is found anywhere in the United States, your drivers license number is a recognizable identifier that a police department would be able to use to try to get the bicycle back to you. · Record your bicycle's make, model and serial number and store this information in a safe place with any sales receipts, when available, for proof of ownership. That way if your bike is stolen you will have this information available, increasing the chance of getting your bicycle back if it is located. · Register your bicycle with Security Forces. The 5th Security Forces Squadron has a fabulous bike registration program. All you need to do is fill out a Minot FM 224, bicycle registration form and bring it to the Police Services section and we will issue you a registration number. Bicycle registration forms are also on hand at the Minot AFB Youth Center to register your bicycle! Registered bicycles found or recovered after a theft is easily returned to the rightful owner! The 5th Security Forces Squadron will host a bicycle safety and registration rodeo May 27 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in the base shoppette parking lot. Come out and register your bike, your children's bikes, and have your bike inspected. Please contact 5th Security Forces Squadron Police Services at 723-4434 with further information concerning bicycle theft or the bicycle registration program.