Bike theft on the rise in Downtown Austin?

According to KVUE it is! Last night they ran a story on the noted increase in bicycle theft in the downtown area, which according to the reporter has been doubling month-over-month. If you want to see the full news story, including some Youtube footage of a foiled local bike theft, here it is. One interesting thing that was mentioned was the following:

In October and November of 2008, Austin police had a sting operation stopping people on bicycles trying to get them to prove ownership. Corporal Perry says the thefts decreased slightly after the operation.

Good thing that whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing is a crock of shit, otherwise I might raise an eyebrow at this behavior from the cops. Does this mean we have to carry around a copy of our bike's serial number in our wallets or something?

Bottom line: Remember to lock 'em up, and ALWAYS try to use a beefy U-Lock!