The Anchorage Assembly has passed an ordinanceaimed at helping police target bike thefts,by criminalizing the possession of bicycles that appear to be stolen.
A unanimous Assembly vote at Tuesday’s meeting enactedmember Chris Constant’s proposal,which would make it a municipal misdemeanor to possess a bicycle or several other types of items with obliterated or scratched-off serial numbers.
Police and Constant have pointed to the frequent seizure of bikes from homeless camps in town, but a lack in corresponding arrests because the people possessing the bikes have said they were purchased from APD’s auctions of stolen bikes.