ELGIN, Ill., AND SAN LEANDRO, Calif. . (October 25, 2005) – The National Bike Registry (NBR®), the only nationwide bicycle recovery service of its kind, is working with Judson College to register and protect students’ bikes on campus and deter theft.

More than 19,000 burglaries or robberies took place on college campuses across the United States in 2003, according to the latest statistics available from the U.S. Department of Education.

Through the low-cost NBR service, the Judson College Department of Public Safety can identify and return stolen bicycles to their owners when they are recovered. The department has made registration mandatory for all students.

“Our goal is to be one of the safest colleges in the nation,” said Dennis Hood of the Judson College Department of Public Safety. “NBR’s service complements our existing local bike registration program and gives us another way to deter crime and to help keep our campus safe and bike theft-free. By having all of our bikes registered with NBR and through the Elgin Police Department, we know they have the best chance of being reunited with the rightful owners if ever stolen.” Students apply the label included in the NBR bike registration pack, record the serial number and description, then register it online, or by mail or phone. These labels help identify a recovered bike and enable its return. Often just seeing the NBR label can deter a thief, who knows it will be harder to resell an obviously stolen bike. Anyone who finds a bicycle, whether the police or a Good Samaritan, can call 800-848-BIKE or access the NBR website at www.nationalbikeregistry.com to trigger a notification to the owner.

“Most thieves don’t have the time or take the effort to try and figure out how to take a security label off a bike. Furthermore, destruction of the label itself is a crime in most states and countries and raises suspicion that the bike is stolen,” said Eddie Orton, president of NBR. “This is how bike registration helps deter theft. With the NBR label, if a student’s bike is stolen, he or she knows there is a better chance that it will be returned and not lost forever.”

For $10, an owner can register a bike for 10 years. NBR packs like those used at Judson College are available to law enforcement at special prices to sell, give away to the community, or use as fund-raisers. The pack includes a 10-year NBR registration, a tamper-resistant, serialized security label for the bike, and a bonus label that gives the user BoomerangIt Lost & Found Return Service for a cell phone, PDA, laptop, or other valuable gear.

Law enforcement agencies that sign up with NBR receive 24/7 password-protected access to the NBR registry to cross-reference recovered bikes to find the owner, an NBR Official Bike Registration Station window decal, and promotional materials and public relations support. They are also listed on the NBR website.

NBR is the official bicycle registration service of the National Crime Prevention Council and McGruff^® ID Armor^® the Crime Dog and works with law enforcement, bike retailers and distributors nationwide, and leading bike manufacturers to provide bike registration and protection and fight bike theft. NBR’s national scope enables police to match bikes to owners no matter where they were stolen and recovered.

For more information on how to join NBR and become an NBR Official Bike Registration Station, call 800-848-BIKE, EXT. 105.

About The National Bike Registry (NBR®)
A division of BoomerangIt, The National Bike Registry is the leader in bicycle registration. We have more than 300,000 bikes and scooters registered in our system. The National Bike Registry works with law enforcement agencies around the country to return stolen bikes and scooters to their rightful owners.

About BoomerangIt
BoomerangIt (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).