I HAVE SOMETHING YOU DON’T HAVE!!!
By: Jackie Rose—Fort Collins Police Services
Springtime is fast approaching. In the spring most people turn their attentions to love, warm weather, exercise and any myriad of other ideas. My mind, however, asks the question, "What are we going to do with all the bikes this year?"
Fort Collins Police Services recovers approximately 650 bicycles a year—more than 600 of those are found/unknown owners. Policy states we maintain custody of these bicycles for 60 days and then take to a surplus auction if the finder does not retrieve. We take anywhere from 60 to 90 bicycles to auction each time. In the summer this agency gets over two dozen bicycles a week.
What do we do with these "lost" souls you ask?
In 1994, Property and Evidence remodeled the various vault areas in use. The Bike Impound is located in a building across the street from the main department and was remodeled as well. Heat was finally installed along with movable shelving units in the back storage room, new paint and lighting fixtures. The bikes originally were stored in bike racks but as numbers accumulate the area becomes impossible to maneuver and a safety issue for the viewing public.
We now have a secured, alarmed bicycle area that holds 160 bicycles on hooks, with space for those bits and pieces of bicycles that always seem to come in, plus room above the hooking units for backpacks, etc. You, too, can have a great-looking, relatively well-kept bicycle area!!!
The basic plan is this: take a typical-sized bicycle, stand it up on the back wheel against the wall and mark midpoint on the front wheel. This is where you will place the hook. Allow approximately a foot and a half between hooks on the wall to give the bicycles some "breathing space." The hooks are simple metal hooks that we have drilled into the wall. When you log in the bicycle, you just pull up the front tire, put the hook through the front tire spoke and slide the back tire up to the wall. We have a bin location above each hook and just mark the property sheet accordingly. Although we had a "big name" company doing our remodel back in ’94, you can probably do this with the help of your Facilities Department and have the same results. If at any time anyone would like to come up and see what I have, give me a call. Tours are free!"
