Tsawwassen has seen an increase in bike thefts this summer and this week Delta police arrested a Vancouver resident in possession of one of them.
"Over the course of the summer, Delta police have noted an increase in the thefts of bicycles in the Tsawwassen area," said department spokesperson Const. Ciaran Feenan.
In 2011, there were 26 bikes stolen in Tsawwassen. So far this year, there has already been 34 bike thefts in the area.
The thefts appear to have spiked in the month of July, which saw a total of 11 thefts. That's up from the four that were seen in July 2011. So far this month, there have been eight bike thefts in Tsawwassen, which is up from a total of three in August 2011.
"The majority of the thefts have taken place along 56th Street, particularly from bicycle racks around local malls," Feenan said.
Tsawwassen resident Morris Mass had his bike stolen outside a local grocery store last month. In a letter to the Optimist last week, he said he almost became a victim again, despite locking up his bike.
"I very nearly became a victim of a second bike theft outside a second food store," he said. "I am just one of many victims of a recent blizzard of bike thefts, which have been occurring ... despite the employment of bike locks."
On Tuesday, Delta police, as a result of an ongoing investigation, located a bike that had been stolen on Aug. 4.
A 32-year-old Vancouver resident was arrested for possession of stolen property under $5,000. He is due to appear in court at a later date.
Delta police recommend that residents protect their bikes by: securing them with quality locks at all times; writing down the serial number of all bikes; and, engraving information that would help identify the owner of the property.
"The Tsawwassen CoPS office volunteers and patrol division will continue to patrol the areas that have been targeted over the summer," Feenan said.
Anyone interested in engraving, can visit the CoPS office, which has an engraving machine on hand for loan to the public. People are asked to call ahead to ensure the machine is available.
The Tsawwassen CoPS office is located at 1108 56th Street and can be contacted by calling 6049480199.
