SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (Feb. 20, 2005) – Bike theft is in the news again and the recent controversy over the failure of U-locks shows that locking your bike simply isn’t enough. Plus, with police departments recovering nearly 50% of stolen bikes, the necessity for bike registration is even more obvious. Thankfully, for the past 20 years, the National Bike Registry (NBR) has been standing guard.

NBR recently celebrated its 20th year as the only nationwide registration system that returns lost and stolen bicycles to their rightful owners. According to NBR President Eddie Orton, while improving on any lock system makes sense, “there’s a falsehood in thinking all bike theft can be prevented and just as much attention should be paid toward recovery".

“For starters, regardless of what steps you take to lock it, there’s a good chance a bike you own will get stolen in your lifetime, and even more surprising to people is that there’s a 50 percent chance the police will recover it,” said Orton. “Here’s where taking one, simple, but necessary, precaution will pay off. If you registered the bike with NBR, there’s a 99% chance the police will be able to return it to you. If you didn’t register, it’s only about a 3% possibility.

Without bike registration, the police have no way of matching the bike to the owner. Unclaimed bikes end up for sale at police auctions. “Bike registration is a no-brainer,” added Orton. “It saves the police hassle. It saves you hassle.”

Recently, NBR, in cooperation with the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) and McGruff^® ID Armor^® the Crime Dog, developed a convenient retail pack, featuring NBR registration and NBR label, for sale at specialty bicycle dealers nationwide. In addition, many police and fire departments in communities and college campuses also provide or sell NBR registrations. NBR registration is also available online at --- www.nationalbikeregistry.com

As the only bike registration system accessible nationwide, NBR also continues to aid the property return efforts of police departments. More than 300,000 bikes are registered with NBR and nearly 20,000 police departments coast-to-coast have direct access to the NBR database. NBR-registered bikes that have been stolen and found are getting returned to their owners at a rate of more than one a week. And the rate is increasing.

Inspectors at the San Francisco Police Department routinely runs searches of the bikes in their property recovery room with the NBR database. A recent search was typical: they came up with 5 exact matches and 10 close matches. The bikes’ original owners were from San Francisco, other spots in Northern California and as far as Washington, D.C. The find underlines the fact that only a nationwide bike registry can match stolen bikes to owners.

“It’s not enough to register your bike with your local police or fire department,” said Lafayette (Calif.) Police Officer David Thys. “That only works if it’s stolen and found in the same town, which is rare in metropolitan areas with many adjacent communities. A bike stolen in Lafayette could end up found in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco or even clear across the country. Only with a nationwide database like NBR, can we efficiently track a recovered bike and get it back to its owner.” The $10 NBR Bike Registration Pack includes a ten-year registration with NBR and a tamper-resistant, serialized security label, and a BONUS label that gives the user BoomerangIt Lost & Found Service for their cell phone, PDA, laptop or whatever, for 10 years. It’s available at hundreds of retail locations in North America, including recognized retailers such as R.E.I. and also distributed by Wilson, QBP, KHS, Seattle Bike Supply, GSI Commerce and YaYa affiliates. In addition, bike manufacturers such as Diamondback, Giant, Huffy, K2, Kryptonite, Mongoose, Raleigh, Razor, Redline and Torker, all offer a free, 6-month trial NBR membership with the purchase of new bikes.

About The National Bike Registry (NBR®)
National Bicycle Registry (www.nationalbikeregistry.com) a BoomerangIt, Inc. company based in San Leandro, Calif., is the nation’s leading Internet-based bicycle registration system, dedicated to helping law enforcement agencies return lost and stolen bicycles and scooters to their rightful owners since 1984. Utilizing the latest technology and a comprehensive, national database, NBR provides this service to consumers through its Web site, toll-free number, retailers, manufacturers and more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies. The National Bike Registry can be found on the Web at --www.nationalbikeregistry.com -- or by calling 1-800-848-BIKE. Also available through Wilson, QBP and KHS. NBR is the national registration service of choice by Diamondback, Giant, Kryptonite, Raleigh and Razor.

About BoomerangIt^TM
BoomerangIt Lost & Found Return Service (www.boomerangit.com) based in San Leandro, Calif., is a global lost and found return service that works with law enforcement and others to return lost and stolen property to its rightful owners. BoomerangIt provides an easy, inexpensive means to label and identify valuable items. It is also a theft deterrent, as studies indicate thieves are less likely to steal marked property. Founded in 2001, BoomerangIt now has more than one million members and is the official lost and found service of the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), with a portion of sales benefiting the “McGruff^® ID Armor^® the Crime Dog” programs. For more information or to purchase BoomerangIt labels and tags, visit www.boomerangit.com or call 800-2Boomit (800-226-6648).

About the National Crime Prevention Council
NCPC is a private, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization whose mission is to help people prevent crime and build safer, more caring communities. NCPC accomplishes its mission through training and technical assistance to national, state and local drug, violence and other crime prevention practitioners; demonstration programs which create environments for research and learning; public service advertising via TV, radio and print challenging viewers to act against violence, drugs and other crimes; Crime Prevention Coalition of America is a network of 600+ national, state and local organizations formed to advance the cause of crime prevention; and educating and informing the field on best practices through highly regarded Web sites, brochures, booklets, books, videos, posters and reproducible kits.