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Bike thieves could face felony charges Wednesday Aug 20, 2014 at 5:19 PM Aug 20, 2014 at 5:35 PM Thieves who steal a $1,500 Ashland Police Department bait bicycle could face felony charges. Vickie AldousMail Tribune Thieves who steal a new $1,500 Ashland Police Department bait bicycle could face felony charges. A 17-year-old male who allegedly stole the bike on Aug. 12 already has landed in the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Center in Medford, Ashland police said. APD began setting out bikes of a lower value in October 2013 and made their first arrest within hours of launching the bait bike program. Those bikes, equipped with tracking devices, are unclaimed and stored in APD's bike corral. The $1,500 bicycle is the first purchased by APD for the program, said Deputy Chief Tighe O'Meara. Theft reaches the felony level when the item taken is valued at $1,000 or more, he said. O'Meara said police hope to not only deter bike theft in Ashland, but to catch higher-level criminals who are taking part in more organized theft operations. They typically target expensive bikes. "People have different motivations for stealing bikes. Some steal a bike to ride it across town. Some take the bike to a chop shop where it's disassembled," he said. "With the felony-level bike, we're hoping to elevate the program. We're upping the ante on the level of bike we put out." Stealing the $1,500 bike could lead to a charge of first-degree theft, a Class C felony with a potential sentence of up to five years in prison, O'Meara said. "That's not likely in the case of a property crime," he said. Bike theft is one of the most common crimes in Ashland, but incidents appear to be falling since the launch of the bait bike program. APD received 56 reports of bike theft in the first half of 2013. That number fell to 41 bike theft reports for the first half of 2014, O'Meara said. Bike theft had been on the rise from 2012 to 2013, according to police records. Out-of-town residents as well as Ashland suspects have been arrested after allegedly taking bait bikes. "We want to get the word out that if you are stealing a bike, you may be stealing an Ashland Police Department bait bike," O'Meara said. Police commonly switch tactics, setting out both locked and unlocked bikes and using a variety of bikes. They also share unclaimed bikes with other agencies, including Southern Oregon University's campus security and the Talent Police Department, O'Meara said. O'Meara said the $1,500 bike was purchased from a local shop. "We did buy it from a local store to keep the money in the local economy. We very deliberately didn't go to Walmart or Medford," he said. Police urge bike owners to register their bikes for free with APD. Registration is mandatory in Ashland and helps police reunite stolen or lost bikes with their owners. People who complete the one-page registration form will receive a license sticker to put on their bicycles. The online registration form is at http://www.ashland.or.us/FormPage.asp?FormID=145. Reach reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or by email at [email protected].