Brookline Police Use 'Bait Bike' To Catch Thieves
BROOKLINE (CBS) --- Using some pretty useful bait, Brookline has bagged a bunch of suspected bike thieves this summer.
They leave a bike unattended, ready for the taking but there is a catch; it has a GPS unit installed.
The guy on the other end of that GPS unit is a police officer.
In the wee hours of Sunday morning, Brookline Police made the city's 12th satellite bike arrest.
Police plant their bait bikes in spots where thieves are biting and put a flimsy lock on it.
Within minutes of a robbery, a dispatcher is tracking the suspect until the peddling perp is intercepted by a cruiser.
Police say roughly $42,000 in bikes have been swiped in Brookline this year -- more than double last year's rate.
Bike riders say they appreciate some police ingenuity.
The GPS system is cost-effective at less than $1,000 for everything, and it's manpower friendly with no need for stakeouts.
But despite their trap, police say the best deterrent is still a good U-lock and cable combo.
