San Francisco’s Police Department is using Twitter to reduce bike thefts

In San Francisco, one Twitter account is watching over your bikes. Officer Matt Friedman of the San Francisco Police Department is behind the Anti-Bike Theft Unit, a program that utilizes Twitter and GPS trackers to thwart bike thefts in the city. The main tools in Friedman’s utility belt: “bait bikes” fitted with GPS trackers and left chained up on the streets of San Francisco. The GPS-enabled bait lets Officer Friedman and the Anti-Bike Theft Unit track bike thefts in real-time — and ultimately nab the thief. After a bait bike is stolen, the Anti-Bike Theft Unit tracks down the thief, arrests them and then posts a picture of the thief to their Twitter account, @SFPDBikeTheft. In between shaming bike thieves, the Twitter account also posts advice and tips for bike security and safety — proper locking techniques, registering the bike’s serial number with the police and using “Is this a bait bike?” stickers to deter thieves.