Ottawa police say bike thefts in the Capital have risen 46 per cent, with more than 630 bikes reported stolen since January.
"It's becoming more popular," Staff Sgt. Kal Ghadban told CTV Ottawa. "People, their thoughts are more into the environment and they want to utilize bikes. So, there are actually more bikes out there and because of that we're seeing an increase in bike thefts as a result."
To combat the skyrocketing number of thefts, Ottawa police have launched Project Bike Bait, a program that targets high theft areas around the city. In a one-week period, police arrested more than 10 people.
"We have officers in the area undercover who then will watch the bike and it'll literally be stolen right before their eyes," said Ghadban.
"Now, the bikes are rigged so that shortly after when the perpetrator tries to ride, the bike is disabled and the suspects are immediately apprehended by our officers."
Police, however, aren't the only ones cracking down on thefts in the Capital, so are the owners of second-hand bike shops.
"We take ID. As the sign says when you walk in the door, ID is required to sell a bicycle," said Dave Gibson, who's worked in the second-hand bike business for 13 years.
Gibson says as a result, thieves "just don't bother coming in anymore."
In the meantime, police say the city-wide effort to halt thefts will continue as long as it is needed.
"If we find that there is an increase in bike thefts in the area, anywhere in the city, we could put a bike out there at any time - at any place we could be watching that bike," said Ghadban.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Maggie Padlewska
