Since the beginning of the year, 100 bikes have been reported stolen and even though 30 have been recovered, a very small percentage have been returned to their owners.
That's because many people don't know their bike's serial numbers. The new program launched by the Clovis Police Department allows people to register their bikes with the police department so they can be more easily returned.
But police say the database would also allow them to find your bike, even if it hasn't been reported stolen.
"If we stop somebody and they're on a bicycle and it doesn't look like maybe they should have that bicycle, we can run the serial number of the bike and then we can see that its owned by someone else. And then we can contact that person and see if that bike is supposed to be with that person," Calli Biaggi of the Clovis Police Department said.
The police department has also reached out to local bike shops who are helping people register their bikes as soon as they're purchased.
