I don't bike on campus. Not that I wouldn't like to - last semester I had 10 minutes to get from Harvill to Modern Languages between classes, and a bike would have been a great convenience. Unfortunately, thieves also find bikes convenient. I decided to w alk. I felt safer knowing that my bike was safely locked up at home. On the other hand, it's not a whole lot of use to me there. Should I risk riding it on campus, or shouldn't I?

Here's what Acting Lt. Brian Seastone of the UA Police Department says about bike theft on campus:

In 1995, 267 bikes were reported stolen from campus. Less than 1 percent were recovered. Thieves are not selective - old bikes are just as much at risk as newer models. Hot spots for bike theft? Outside the Student Union, the Main Library - anywhere there are a lot of bikes. The best way to protect your bike is to use a good lock - preferably a U-lock. Lock it to a bike post. Change locations frequently - an unattended bike that's gathering dust is a target for thieves. Reportunusual activity - if someone is loitering around a bike stand and they look suspicious, call campus police - they want to know, and they will respond.

Two hundred sixty-seven stolen bikes sound daunting - until you consider that there are an estimated 9,000 bikes on campus on any day during the semester. On average, Seastone said, only one of these is stolen per day.

If bike thieves reputedly aren't selective, how come most of the bike thefts reported in Police Beat appear to involve expensive mountain bikes? Criminology professor Travis Hirschi says:

"Only one-third of all crimes are ever reported - victims usually report only thefts involving high-value items. A major factor, too, is whether people foresee anything coming of the report."

I can see his point. With only a 1 percent recovery rate, it's not surprising that most people don't report the average stolen bike. How would the police find my metallic gray Univega amongst hundreds of others? Kathy Moulin, program coordinator at Parkin g and Transportation Services, urges students to register their bikes. It's free - just go in, fill out a form, and they'll give you a bike sticker with an ID number. The number enables police citywide to return your bike if it's found abandoned. Also loo k for the bike registration booth in front of Gallagher Theatre, August 19, 20 and 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The bottom line with bike theft seems to be: make it as difficult for the thief as you can. An unlocked bike is more attractive than one with two stout locks. Graduate sociology instructor Phil Wiseley puts it this way:

Though the "typical" thief is a juvenile with low self-control and elastic morals, most thefts occur simply because the opportunity is there. Leave an apparently valuable item (maybe a nonfunctioning Walkman) on an empty library table, suggests Wiseley, a nd see if it's still there two hours later - human nature says it probably won't be. Lock your bike.

Almost everybody knows someone who has had a bike stolen. Hearsay and my own nervous apprehensions lead me to expect to lose my bike if I use it on campus. However, the facts don't altogether support this assumption. The risk undoubtedly exists, but so d o many others. Soaring burglary and larceny rates remind me that my house is also a target - but I don't stay home with a shotgun trained on the door. Any time I get into my car, someone who is drunk, uninsured, or both may deprive me of my vehicle or eve n my life. I drive defensively, and I lock my house when I leave it.

Seems like all any of us can do to avoid becoming a statistic is to take reasonable precautions, and then get on with living. Sure, you're taking a chance whenever you walk away from your bike between classes. But while I remain paranoid and leave my bike "safe" at home, you'll get there before I will.

Kaye Patchett is a creative writing senior. Her column appears every other week.