Twenty-five bicycle thefts have been reported to the University police since September. This may augur a bumper crop of bike stealing the rest of this year, as last years' total number of thefts was only about 60.
Police feel that students often carelessly leave bicycles unlocked, and are likewise careless about "borrowing" other people's bikes. In past years, police have uncovered several "bicycle rings" which steal and export bikes on a large-scale basis from the city of Cambridge, but no such rings are thought to be in business at present.
City law requires that "all bicycle operators shall conform to traffic laws and regulations," and also states that persons under 21 who violate the law shall have their bicycles impounded subject to their parents' consent, but Sergeant James L. Delaney of the Cambridge police admits that "bicycle legislation is impossible to enforce."
Cambridge bicycle stores make about 1,000 sales to University members per year. Currently, 17,256 bicycles are registered with the Cambridge police, an estimated 10,000 of which are operated in the University area.
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