The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department (UWPD) has a new, high-tech answer to the decades-old problem of campus bicycle thefts. In May 2008, the department began placing bikes equipped with GPS units in places around campus where other thefts have been reported.
The program, created by Police Officer John Deering, is showing positive early results. From January 2007 to May 2008, the UW-Madison police took reports of a total of 100 reported bike thefts. During the 2007-2008 academic year, only one person was arrested for a bike theft.
With the GPS program in place, 16 arrests had been made between May and August 1.