He owned the bike for eight years and in a matter of seconds it was gone.
This semester there has been 17 reported bike thefts according to TCU Police’s website. In comparison, Southern Methodist University in Dallas has only reported five bike thefts this semester, according to their police website.
Bike thefts on campus have gone up recently in the past few months and there appear to be one or two active bike thieves, TCU Police Sergeant Kelly Ham said.
TCU Police have a warrant for a person they believe to be stealing the bikes, Ham said.
The influx of bikes stolen have either been propped up against a wall or the thieves use bolt cutters on the lock, TCU Police Officer George Steen said.
“Always lock your bike but use quality locks,” Ham said. “Don’t use inexpensive locks that can be easily broken.”
However, if the opportunity is present for someone to easily get away with stealing a bike, then it will be more likely to happen, Steen said.
“A good lock keeps honest people from getting crooked,” Steen said.
Students are advised to keep their bikes outside of their residence halls, Craig Allen, director of housing and residence life, said. Bike racks have been made available throughout all of the renovations.
Still, Ratliff used a moped lock and his bike was still stolen, the freshman pre-business major said.
“I had sentimental value attached to that bike and it was a really nice bike at the same time,” he said.