The Summit County Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Unit launched the bait bike program this June. Deputies hide GPS devices in name-brand bikes, so they can catch thieves if the bikes get stolen.
Sergeant Tim Berger oversees the SEU. He said their bait bikes blend in.
“Giving it a good once over, you would never know that it had the technology in it to be tracked,” Berger said.
Berger couldn’t share too many details to preserve the integrity of the program, but he did say the sheriff’s office has about five such bikes. Some are e-bikes, sourced from shops around the Park City area.
“We’re keeping it pretty high-end, as far as we're throwing out there,” he said. “You know, some of these folks are out $10,000 when their bike disappears.”
That said, the bikes differ in value. Depending on which bike someone steals, they could catch a misdemeanor or a felony charge.
“As soon as it moves, as soon as someone puts their hands on it, moves it from its resting position,” Berger said, “we will get an alert at the sheriff's office telling us this specific property item is moving, and it'll track it real time.”
Being able to track the bikes is important, because many times they’re transported outside of Summit County.
“A lot of our—I call it ‘clientele,’ the bad guys that are coming up to do these kinds of things—they're not local folks,” Berger said.
Berger said bikes are hot commodities during the summer, and previously the sheriff’s office has employed similar tactics, just not with GPS technology.
“In the past, we'd have to sit and watch an item, from a point of view and an unmarked car,” he said. “Or have an officer not in uniform watching the item to make sure that it didn't just walk away.”
The SEU looks at crime trends to decide where to put the decoys. Berger said they move the bikes to areas where bike theft is more frequent.
He said the goal isn’t to trick people into thinking a bait bike is an unwanted or abandoned bike. They might be locked up, in front of a home or in front of a business.
“It's going to be a very clear sign that this bike belongs to someone,” he said. “And it's not you.”
If someone suspects a bike they want to buy may be stolen, they can call local law enforcement to check the serial number. Another option is to ask the seller for a receipt or record of its purchase.
