Departments sell, donate bicycles that go unclaimed by original owners.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
The Portland area is obsessed with bicycles.
But what do police do when abandoned or stolen bikes go unclaimed by their original owners?
It’s a problem that is plaguing several departments around the region, the Portland Tribune reports.
“We don’t end up with the $500 or $1,000 bikes,” [St. Helens Police Chief Terry] Moss said. “The victims of those thefts are pretty anxious to get their bikes back. … When you have an $89 BMX bike from Wal-Mart, I don’t know that there’s that level of concern.” Asked how often the owners of bikes recovered by the police come to claim them, Moss responded, “Very irregularly. Not often. Once in a while, once in a great while, sometimes — but no, not often enough.”
Within the past six weeks, Moss said, the department got rid of nearly all of its unclaimed bikes. Those that were in poor shape were thrown away, while others were donated to groups that had expressed interest in the past.
(SOURCE: Portland Tribune)
Some bikes go to people in the drug court to ensure they have reliable transportation: A good use of public assets to fight recidivism.
What should departments do with surplus bicycles? Comment below.
