When a bicycle gets stolen, it isn’t very often the police can recover it shortly after getting the report. This past week, however, the Weyburn Police Service managed to find one that had been taken from its rightful owner.
The situation, which unfolded last Thursday, started when the owner of an e-bike had parked it for a short time while they went into a building. When they came back out, the e-bike was gone. This prompted a call to report it as stolen to the WPS.
Then, it was found by the police Saturday in the possession of two people, neither of who was the owner. The suspects were arrested, and charged with possession of property obtained by crime.
“They did try spray painting it when we did recover the bike, so there’s also a mischief charge,” said Sergeant Shane St. John. “So, there’s also a mischief charge.”
One of the suspects is also charged with failing to comply with a release order.
When it comes to stolen bicycles, St. John explained that in many cases, while it is a crime of opportunity, it isn’t so the perpetrator of the crime has a way to get around on two wheels.
“They would be looking to sell that for a quick profit, maybe in Regina or Estevan, or who knows where,” St. John stated. “They likely wouldn’t be in Weyburn.”
To help reunite bikes with their rightful owners, St. John recommended that residents of Weyburn take part in the bicycle license program.
“It used to be everybody had one,” St. John said. “If we came across a bike, or we recovered a bike, and that license was on it, we’d contact the person and they’d get the bike back to them.”
The bicycle licenses are available for $5 and can be purchased from the Weyburn Police Service. The license is also transferrable in the case the bike is sold to a new owner.
Currently, the Weyburn Police Service is running out of space for storing recovered bikes that have not been claimed. St. John explained that to help free up space in their storage facility, they may be looking at holding a bike auction in the near future. The last bike auction held by the WPS was in 2019, and 80 bicycles were auctioned off.