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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Room for improvement ... Electric Highway aims to spark more EV use ... Rogue River man held on murder charge ... Room for improvement ... Electric Highway aims to spark more EV use ... Rogue River man held on murder charge ... ASHLAND CRIME Bike thefts down 21 percent from 2013 Comment By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 14, 2015 at 5:25 PM By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 14, 2015 at 5:25 PM » Social News Ashland police are crediting a novel decoy program with a sharp drop in end-of-year bicycle theft totals.  "We're very happy with out 2014 (crime) numbers overall," said Deputy Chief Tighe O'Meara Tuesday. "All reportable crime is down." Bike thefts in particular showed the biggest drop, he said, showing a 21 percent decrease from 2013. O'Meara said the change came last fall, when the department started an anti-theft decoy program to combat what he described as an "exponential" year-over-year increase in bike theft cases. "We rolled that out in October 2013," he said. "Bike theft is one of the biggest problems that so many communities have, including Ashland, and we really felt a need to combat it." Under the program, a "bait bike," equipped with a tracking device, is placed in a public space — sometimes locked up, other times not. If the bike is taken, officers follow the tracking device to their suspect. Within weeks of deployment, decoys were drawing thieves left and right. In one case, officers tracked one of their bikes to a group of suspects who already had another stolen bike on their vehicle rack. O'Meara said the department has conducted decoy operations in various areas, but has been focusing on parts of the city with particularly high numbers of bike theft incidents. "It was all across the city, but SOU was one of the concentrated areas we targeted for enforcement, because so many college kids do have bikes," he said. Aside from bike thefts, Part 1 crimes — the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program's classification for serious felonies including murder, rape, burglary and vehicle theft — also saw a 9 percent decrease from 2013 totals. Reach reporter Thomas Moriarty at 541-776-4471, or by email at [email protected] . Follow him at @ThomasDMoriarty . By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 14, 2015 at 5:25 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501