UCLA Police are reminding students to be extra careful about how they travel on campus, as electric bikes and battery-powered scooters have been stolen from UCLA students in large numbers over the past few months.
UCLA police told NBC Los Angeles on Wednesday that there have been at least 64 scooter thefts in the past 60 days.
However, theft of e-bikes and e-scooters is nothing new, with UCLA police making more than 20 arrests in 2024 alone for vehicle thefts related to rechargeable light vehicles.
Police said they were able to catch some of the thieves by using GPS tracking devices installed on bicycles and scooters.
“This is generally due to the types of scooters that have powerful motors, which criminals can remove parts and sell on the internet or sell the actual scooters for profit,” UCLA said Acting Police Inspector Jeff Chobanian.
🚨 Awareness about scooter theft!🚨
UCPD has filed a lawsuit regarding the protection of electric scooters and bicycles 🚔🔍 We investigate all leads using a GPS decoy program (newly expanded to include electric scooters!) We are committed to keeping our campus safe. pic.twitter.com/oonFYwBlDE
— UCLA Police Department (@UCPDLA) December 4, 2024
Chobanian said the people arrested for stealing electric bikes were not affiliated with UCLA.
“These are people who come to this campus to commit crimes.”
Chobanian encouraged UCLA students and staff to lock their scooters and bicycles or take them indoors to prevent theft.
Law enforcement agencies use GPS decoy programs to locate stolen vehicles, but police don’t want people to track e-bikes and e-scooters on their own.
“If they chase you, they might try to get what’s theirs back, and they might get hurt,” Chobanian explained.
