As bicycling rises in popularity, so does theft Riders, police aiming to reduce crime that's soared in recent years

A bicycle locked to a rack on Fourth Street in San Francisco has been stripped of its handlebars and seat. A bicycle locked to a rack on Fourth Street in San Francisco has been stripped of its handlebars and seat. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close As bicycling rises in popularity, so does theft 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

(07-18) 17:55 PDT San Francisco -- Sean Sullivan was cycling along the Panhandle toward Golden Gate Park last summer when he saw a van on Fell Street with about 20 bikes inside. For 20 minutes, he watched three men take apart another 15 bicycles lying next to the van before deciding to call 911.

"The apathy of everyone who was witnessing exactly what I was witnessing was shocking," said Sullivan, an Upper Haight resident, testifying at a San Francisco City Hall hearing on bike theft Thursday. "This is just an expected part of life in San Francisco."

Sullivan's call got those men arrested, but the number of bike thefts in the city is skyrocketing as cycling becomes a more popular form of transit. A new report from the city's Budget and Legislative Analyst found that bike theft is up 70 percent since 2006, with 817 attempted or reported thefts in 2012, and police estimate that when unreported thefts are factored in, last year's total rises to more than 4,000.

"It's been eating at me for 40 years since I had my bike stolen on the first day of middle school," said Supervisor Eric Mar, who called for the hearing and said he also had a bike stolen out of his locked garage in the Richmond District in October. "Understanding how these thefts happen is really important."

Police recovered 864 bikes last year and keep them in a warehouse for about 120 days before auctioning or donating them to charity. Only 142 of those bikes were returned to their owners, a low percentage that the report blames on police lacking a centralized approach to bike theft and the fact that owners generally don't know their bike's serial number.

Bike owners can sign up with private groups or the National Bike Registry for a fee to register their bike's serial number in a database that law enforcement can access. San Francisco police are looking to team up with nonprofit crime prevention group San Francisco Safe to create their own voluntary registry within about a year, said Deputy Chief John Loftus.

Creating a special unit devoted to bike theft may take longer, Loftus said, especially since police department staffing is at "historic" lows.

"As our numbers increase, I can very easily see us dedicating more resources to bike theft," he said. "This is obviously a serious crime."

District Six, which includes SoMa and the Tenderloin, had the highest number of thefts with 285 reported last year, followed by the Mission District with 157 reports. Marc Caswell, a program manager for the Bicycle Coalition, said theft is a deterrent for people who are considering biking.

"This is one of the top concerns for our members," Caswell said. "Nearly three bikes were stolen for every one cell phone last year, but we're not seeing this as the top priority in the media or other city agencies."

Police could not say how many people have been arrested for bike theft, but noted that there have been recent high-profile convictions. In May 2012, Irving Morales-Sanchez, then an 18-year-old San Franciscan, was arrested for keeping 114 stolen bikes in his possession. He pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and spent a year in prison, said Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the district attorney.

Police Officer Matt Friedman attends bike education programs where he encourages bike registration and use of metal U-locks.

"I can walk down any street in San Francisco and people are still using cable locks or not using U-locks correctly, and their bikes become very easy to steal," he said. "If they were registered, there would be no problem in getting them back."

Sullivan, who has had two bikes stolen, said he hopes that by setting up a local registration program, the city would take a big step toward improving bike culture.

"I think the bike registration program would go a long way toward mitigating that expectation that the day is going to come when your bike will disappear," he said.