A Logansport resident told the Common Council Sept. 8 that the police no longer collect abandoned or stolen bicycles and urged the department to resume collection and partner with nonprofits to repurpose recovered bikes.

"We had made that happen about a month ago... someone dumped a bicycle in our lot," Paul Wilhelm said, describing an incident near South Fifteenth Street and expressing concern that failing to enforce laws against theft sends the wrong message.

Police Chief (unidentified by name at the meeting) responded that officers do collect bicycles when there is a crime and a victim, and that the department stopped maintaining a general lost-and-found bicycle inventory about six years ago after accumulating hundreds of unclaimed bikes in city storage. The chief said the department will pick up bikes when theft is reported or when property is taken as evidence and that he is researching programs used by larger departments, including nonprofit partnerships that repurpose recovered bikes.

The chief said evidence and property rules limit indefinite storage of non-evidentiary items and noted logistical issues, such as transporting bicycles without sufficient vehicle space. The chief also said the department has returned bicycles seized in arrests when the owner was identified and released.

Council members and the chief agreed to discuss the administrative approach, including potential partnerships with nonprofit organizations and whether the rules committee should review the issue. No directive or ordinance was adopted that night.

Ending: The police chief said the department will follow up on reported thefts, explore partnerships for unclaimed bicycles, and brief the council or appropriate committee on options.