Police: Bike thefts on the rise in Germantown

GERMANTOWN - Philadelphia police say they are seeing an increase in bike thefts throughout the 14th District.

They sent out an alert on Twitter on Friday with tips on bicycle theft prevention, including to never leave bicycles unattended and to purchase a quality U-lock.

Crime statistics sent to Fox 29 show that they had 10 thefts in the district within the past month alone.

"We were really upset, we felt violated more than anything," says Iayisha Carroll. "It wasn't about the bike."

Carroll says her Ring doorbell camera caught a man walking onto her family's porch on East Queen Lane on Monday and stealing her 12-year-old daughter's bike.

"Mad, angry, upset, we just felt violated," she says.

She's not alone.

Josephine Jones also sent us a similar video from a week ago on Baynton Street. It shows a man opening her front gate and helping himself to two kids' bikes and getting away with both.

Police could not say if any of the cases they have seen in the past month are connected, but they are actively investigating.

Fortunately, for Carroll's family, there is a happy ending.

She says Lieutenant Pittaoulis, with the 14th District, showed up at their home with a personal bike he was not using so her daughter could have a new one.

"It restored just our faith in humanity, like OK, someone does care," she says. "It wasn’t about the bike at all, it was the principle, but him bringing the bike just made us feel better."