Bicycle thefts have more than doubled from Sept. 2009 to Sept. 2010 in the Boston University campus area, according to BU Police Department statistics.
Twenty-six bicycles were reported stolen to BUPD as of Sept. 21, more than twice as many as the 12 reported last September.
"It is a spike we are surprised about," said BUPD Captain Robert Molloy.
Molloy said police have put out a special patrol to target bike thieves, including officers in plain clothes, marked and unmarked vehicles and officers on foot. BUPD has also hired additional staff to monitor bikes from the hours of 12 to 4 a.m.
"We are focusing on those areas where we know are the real popular areas where bikes are being stolen from," Molloy said.
South Campus, specifically Buswell Street, accounts for close to one-third of the bicycle thefts, Molloy said.
Around 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning, BUPD found two suspects crouched in an alleyway near bicycle racks on 871 Commonwealth Ave.
The suspects were found with small bicycle parts and tin strips&-tools used to cut metal&-and were ordered off BU property. Last week, BUPD also arrested a student who took an unsecured bicycle and another man who rode a bicycle while towing a second behind him.
Though BUPD has not come to any conclusions as to why there have been such an increase in theft, Molloy said he believes it may be due to an increase in ridership.
Veteran BU bike-rider and co-founder of the club BU Bikes Greg Humm agreed.
"Biking has become way more popular in the past few years than it ever was in Boston," Humm, who now resides in Somerville, said.
"When you're walking up and down Commonwealth Avenue, bikers are noticeable everywhere," he said. "My freshman year biking around Boston wasn't something that was in your face every 30 seconds like it is on Comm Ave."
Humm attributes the increase in riders to more bicycle parking, which BU has increased since 2008. Boston has also installed miles of new bicycle lanes on Comm Ave. and elsewhere around the city.
Yet neighboring Brookline has not seen an increase in bicycle theft. Brookline police records show that the rate has gone down from nine reported thefts in Sept. 2009 to six reported thefts in Sept. 2010.
However, though the rates have gone down, college students may still be the target of bicycle thieves in Brookline.
"The majority of the bike thefts have been occurring on the colleges and the medical area," Lt. Philip Harrington, spokesman for the Brookline Police, said.
Ken Hora, a College of Engineering senior, said that he was the victim of a bike theft last semester when his cable lock was cut outside of Warren Towers.
"Now I use a U-lock but I'm actually going to get one of those humongous chain locks," said Hora.
Now, he does not advise locking bicycles outside over night.
"Honestly, nowhere is safe," said Hora.
Alexander Sirota, a CAS freshman, was the victim of bicycle theft last weekend.
"I locked it up [outside] Warren Towers and I took the seat off and I came down next day and there was no bike" said Sirota.
The bicycle was worth $600. Sirota said that although he registered the bicycle, and reported the incident to BUPD, he is not hopeful about its return.
"I think it's gone forever," he said.
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