Bicycle registry officially launches in Windsor, Ont.

Take note, Windsor, Ont.-area cyclists: the Windsor Police Service have created a bicycle registry to keep tabs on your ride, an official measure being taken to combat bike theft, or at least mitigate its effects. Those who commute to work by bike, in particular, are among those whom the police are encouraging to use the service.

On the afternoon of Thursday, September 17, the registry officially went live online.

“This program,” said Windsor police spokesperson Matt D’Asti, as featured on the organization’s website, “will increase the chances of having your bicycle returned to you if it is stolen or lost.” Like other cities, the registry records a broad array of information about both Windsor-area bikes and their users. When registering a bike, police say, riders must provide the make, type, colour and, of course, the serial number of the bicycle they ride to facilitate efforts to return recovered steeds. And in households with multiple bikes under the same roof, each one requires its own registration form to be filled out.

Still, police are careful to point out that while the registry exists, officers aren’t mind-readers. In the unfortunate event of a stolen ride, the usual channels must still be taken to report the crime. “This program will increase the chances of having your bicycle returned to you if it is stolen or lost,” D’Asti said. “It is important to remember that you still have to make a police report if your bike is stolen.”

The registry addresses what seems to be a problem that isn’t going away in the southern Ontario city: bike theft. On the other, less-official end of the spectrum, a Facebook group was also launched in August called Stolen Bikes of Windsor, with a goal of recovering pinched rides through the dissemination of photos and bike details posted to the page. So far, organizers of the project report a 17-percent recovery rate — meaning there’s about a one in five chance of seeing your bike again.

“Unfortunately,” said Stolen Bikes of Windsor co-founder Oliver Swainson, “the recovery rate for most stolen bikes is very, very low.”