Ever had your bicycle stolen? Want to know what comes of it? One District resident did.

Yesterday the City Paper reported on the efforts of Chevy Chase resident Evan McAnney, who was looking for ways to end a streak of thefts that had denied him of five bicycles in three years. His plan was to install a small radio transmitter into a bicycle, leave it unattended, and allow police to track it when it was invariably taken. And why not? The District had tried the same with bait cars, and some crafty Sacramento residents had successfully implemented the idea with their own bikes. And since he thought the program was an innovative approach to stopping bicycle theft, he went looking for government support. He found none. The City Paper writes:

Since April, McAnney has contacted police, the Department of Justice, members of the D.C. Council, and various other city offices. He has not gotten a response to date.

McAnney attributes the stonewalling to the fact that the bait cars’ use has foundered due to liability concerns. “I’m being stonewalled because the DC government and police are embarrassed to have a parking lot full of brand-new vehicles that are useless,” McAnney writes.

We’re not surprised. While the District professes to be cycle-friendly, many of its laws related to bicycle ownership are somewhat antiquated. Registration of bicycles is still mandatory, though many local police stations know little of the process. An un-registered bicycle will receive little more than a shrug from police officers if stolen, and should you be stopped while cycling by an officer who knows the law, he can take your bike for nothing more than the fact that you failed to register it. On top of that, bicycle theft just isn’t terribly high on MPD’s list of priorities.

Radio transmitters or not, we know this much — if you’re locking up your bike, assume that anything that can be taken off will be. Your wheels and your frame should all be secured to something solid, and unless you want an uncomfortable ride home, take your seat along (one rider we know even went as far as to replace his seat with a sharpened broomstick when he left his bike on the street). And if you’re still using a U-Lock with a circular key or a flimsy cable lock, invest in something a little more sturdy.

McAnney’s idea is still worth trying, though. A cheap GPS transmitter in the frame could easily let you track down your stolen cycle, at which point you could, well, just steal it back.