Volume 94, Issue 32
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2013
dailytitan.com
NEWS | CRIME
Police recover professor’s bike
Bicycle was found on Craigslist months after it was stolen on campus BRITTANY CURRIE Daily Titan
On August 2013, Edward Fink, Ph.D., rode to work on his new Electra Amsterdam Dutch city bike and parked it on a rack. Since he lives close to campus, he commutes every day on his bike. He spends less time searching for a parking spot, he saves money on gas and he gets a small amount of exercise. “For me it’s more convenient than driving a car,” Fink, director of the faculty development center, said. When Fink went to leave for the day he was shocked to find that it wasn’t there. His bike had been stolen. Fink went straight to the University Police and filed a report with an officer. Months passed without any leads on the missing bike. Occasionally, Fink and his wife would check Craigslist, but found nothing for months. However, last week Fink’s wife saw her husband’s bike on the website. He recognized it by a red tail light he had attached to the seat post. “If you are religious you would say it was a God thing. It was posted and the good Lord said ‘I’m just going to accidently have her go there.’ If you’re not religious it was a wonderful coincidence. Whatever, either way it worked for us,” Fink said. He contacted University Police and Fink’s bike was returned to him that same day. Detective Paul McClain made contact with the seller and arranged a meeting at a Corona business, verified the serial number and recovered
the bike. McClain said when a bike is recovered from Craigslist, it has usually had a few different owners since it was originally stolen. “Basically it was determined through the investigation that they were not the ones who stole the bike. So technically if you look at it from the bigger picture they are a secondary victim because they bought a bike that was stolen and they were just reselling it,” McClain said. The investigation is still open, searching for the person who had originally stolen the bike. University Police were able to get Fink’s bike back because he registered his bicycle with them weeks before it was stolen. Since August 2011, campus police have provided students and faculty the service of registering their bikes incase of it being stolen. McClain originally started the free registration service and has had 229 bikes registered. Individuals registering their bike fill out a form and are photographed with the bike. The serial number is entered into the campus police system and also gets sent to a statewide database. “What’s cool about that is, if any other law enforcement comes across this bike and runs the serial number it’s going to populate and return as being stolen, but without that in the past it’s very difficult,” McClain said. In 2012, 125 bikes were reported stolen and so far in 2013, 61 have been reported. Most of these bike thefts are from wires being cut with improper lockings, poor locks or stolen with no locks at all. SEE THEFT, 2
Courtesy of University Police Edward Fink, Ph.D., identifies himself with his bike for the CSUF Police Station bike registration which can pair a bike with its owner, if recovered.
WHAT’S
INSIDE?
NEWS 3
DEANNA TROMBLEY / Daily Titan
Terrence Bennett, longtime member of Orange County Critical Mass (OCCM) begins to lead a group of cyclists through the busy streets of downtown Fullerton on Friday Night.
Cycling for safety Fullerton bikes take to streets IAN O’BRIEN Daily Titan
Bicyclists take to the Fullerton streets once a month for Orange County Critical Mass (OCCM) to prove that cyclists and car drivers can share the road and to encourage a safer commute for all. Riding together through the streets of Fullerton and Orange County, the group focuses less on having one leader and instead focuses on everyone as an equal participant. “We come out and ride. There’s no particular course. You just ride, and whoever’s in the front is the one that directs the pack,” said Terrence Bennett, a longtime rider, who participated in last week’s ride, which set off from The Night Owl Coffee Lounge in downtown Fullerton. Bennett has been involved with OCCM since 2008 and regularly promotes the cause. Fullerton has served as an advantage for the group, serving as a bike riding city for college students. “Just the fact that it’s a college town has actually helped us a lot. The police here seem to be very supportive,” Bennett said. Students cycling to class can cause crowded sidewalks, and safety issues on campus, particularly on sidewalks. “I think more than anything that cyclists in the area need to walk on sidewalks when they’re walking through campus. I mean it’s one thing to ride to campus, but when you’re on campus you really should walk,” Bennett said. OCCM hopes to see more awareness of this issue among students, including those who drive and those who ride. “Mostly they educate riders that they should be courteous to pedestrians,” Bennett said. Although Bennett said cyclists should be more considerate of pedestrians on sidewalks, the OCCM strives to have motorists recognize their right to share the road with them. “The goal mainly is to get motorists aware of the rights of cyclists on the road.
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At the same time we want to have some fun and meet different people,” Bennett said. Tu Phan, another participant, also looks at this event as a social gathering instead of an official club. Critical Mass gatherings originated in San Francisco 30 years ago, it’s purpose was to ride safely where there were no bike lanes, Phan said. “It’s illegal for a cyclist to ride on the sidewalk, and motorists don’t think bicyclists belong on the street either, so we need to create more awareness to have people ride more often on the street and show them first that it’s legal,” Phan said. The OCCM hopes to continue to spread their message through the Internet as well as the road. “We mostly go through Facebook, but I’d say for the most part just seeing people like riding their bikes out. People are already out riding their bikes. You can say ‘Hey come join us, it’s a lot of fun.’ We’ll ride for 15 miles at a pace everybody can ride on,” Phan said. Social media also plays a role in spread-
ing their message. “I’ve been posting on Craigslist lately to help that. Facebook, Twitter, pretty much any type of media I can get to,” Bennett said. The OCCM meets around 7 p.m. on the last Friday of each month.
“The goal mainly is to get motorists aware of the rights of cyclists on the road. At the same time we want to have some fun and meet different people.” Terrence Bennett
Critical Mass Participant
JESSICA PINEDA / Daily Titan
This bike lane on Commonwealth Avenue is frequented by Cal State Fullerton cyclists.
FEATURES 6
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FITNESS 8
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