30 bikes are sitting in the Herkimer police storage room: How police are finding owners
When Chief Mike Jory of the Herkimer Police Department saw the police storage room had accumulated about 30 bikes, a number he referred to as "a bit unmanageable," he decided it was time to do something about it.
"There are people that have their bikes stolen or lost and for whatever reason, they don't come down to get them," said Jory. "So before they're, you know, continually stockpiled, we try to alleviate any of the backlog and move them along."
On Friday, Dec. 9, the department made a post on their Facebook page, urging residents to come down to the police station with the "make, model, color, size, description and approximate date of loss or theft," in order to retrieve their bikes. Officers are available to help residents with their bikes from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.
How unclaimed bikes accumulate at the police station
Jory estimated that about 20 bikes per year are called in as lost or stolen and that the bikes they currently have are ones which haven't been reported by their owners.
The bikes accumulated over the years were mostly called in by property owners for removal or found unattended by officers.
"We're governed by laws on when to get rid of property, how long we have to keep it for that claim," said Jory. "So some of the things that have been locked for three years, you know, we may move along."
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Bikes that have aged out will not go straight to the scrap heap, however. According to Jory, there are several organizations based in Herkimer that will refurbish these bikes and give them to children in need.
How to keep your bike safe from theft
As for how successful the post has been at reuniting long lost bikes with their rightful owners, Jory said that so far only a handful of people have came in.
"We have not made much headway," said Jory.
He did, however, offer some words of advice for bike-owning residents in order to prevent such a lost bike stockpile from occurring again in the future.
"Number one, buy a lock," said Jory. He said the department is considering holding lessons teaching students how to properly use bike locks to prevent theft.
"Number two, when you buy a bike, we like to have the serial number, a photo of it and description kept by the owner or the parent," said Chief Jory. "That way if it gets stolen or lost it's much, much easier to identify."
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Herkimer Police pairing 30 unclaimed bikes with owners: What to know
