Although crime is dropping in Los Angeles, there is one glaring exception: bicycle thefts, which rose 29 percent last year, it was reported Friday.
Nearly 2,000 bikes were reported stolen last year, and authorities believe the actual number of thefts was much higher because so many people don't report stolen bikes, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Los Angeles Police Department detectives believe the increase is due in part to more people using bikes to get around in some neighborhoods. A Times analysis of LAPD data found the USC campus area, Venice, parts of Hollywood and downtown L.A. to be hot spots for bike thefts.
LAPD detectives recently broke up a downtown bicycle theft ring and nabbed two men who allegedly swiped bikes downtown and sold them on Craigslist.com, The Times reported. At the motel of one of the alleged thieves, they found bolt cutters, hacksaws and a Mercedes-Benz equipped with a bike rack.
Some bike messengers last month took justice into their own hands when they caught two suspected thieves, teenage boys who attended a local Catholic high school, The Times reported. According to police, the messengers stripped down the teens to their boxer shorts before taking their cellphones, backpacks and clothes.
"They meted out street justice. We don't condone street justice. They never threatened them. But they made it clear: don't mess with another person's property," Lt. Paul Vernon told the newspaper. "This incident and the arrests are the tip of the iceberg when comes to people stealing bicycles."
Investigators said they cannot prove the boys were stealing bikes and are continuing to look for the assailants.
