Recently, the Moose Jaw Police Service posted on social media a story of officers recovering a bike stolen from a student at Central Collegiate. 

Officers were dispatched to track down the bike. They reviewed security camera footage and were able to identify the thief, who was arrested and charged. 

However, stolen bicycles are not a new problem in the city and it isn’t unique to just Moose Jaw. It is a situation that the Moose Jaw Police Service takes very seriously. 

“We recover a lot of bicycles and we have a hard time matching many of them up to the owners. So, like you would with any other property, secure it as best you can and make sure that you have the proper records so that if something does happen, you can give us as much information as you have that would help us locate and return it,” said Chief Rick Bourassa. 

Anyone who suspects their bicycle has been stolen should contact the Moose Jaw Police Service. 

While it can be a bonus if the police can lay charges with the theft, the first objective is to recover the bike and return it back to its rightful owner. 

Bourassa said it’s always important to keep your bike locked up, but there is more you can do. 

“Even with the locking, they can still be taken by people who are motivated to take them. Always ensure that you have your serial number recorded because if you can report the serial number and we recover it, we can match it up to the owner,” Bourassa said. 

When asked about bicycle registration programs, like other communities have, Supt. Rick McKenna said many, many years ago Moose Jaw used to have a program like that. Problems would arise, though, when bikes were sold or given to a new owner and the police were not notified. When stolen bikes were recovered, they were returned to the person it was last registered to, which may not be the current owner.