Learn How to Mark Bicycles To Prevent Theft

Many people who tried to claim the bikes were turned away because they could not prove ownership.

Authorities say the best way to mark a bike is to engrave your driver's license number and state on the frame near the rear axle.

"That way if the bike is stolen, we can track down the driver's license number which is never re-issued to anyone," said Kathleen Ruppert, Crime Prevention Specialist. "Then we can let you know we have recovered your bike."

"We've recovered things that have been engraved, and people haven't even reported that it was stolen," Ruppert said.

Police say do not rely on the serial number because most of them can easily be taken off.

However, there are good things that happen to the spare bikes.

Fayetteville police give the surplus bikes to kids who do 10 hours of community service work and write essays on how kids can help prevent crime. -->