BLOOMINGTON - Every year the Bloomington Police Department auctions off hundreds of lost or stolen bicycles it recovers. | DOWNLOAD: Bicycle registration form

In an effort to help find the owners of those bicycles, the police department started a bicycle registration program that gets under way Saturday.

"It will not prevent bicycles from being stolen," said Bloomington police officer David White. "People will still need to chain up their bikes and not leave them in yard overnight."

But if a bicycle recovered by police has a registration sticker, the police can track down the owner and return it instead of putting into the police's "bike room" to wait for someone to claim it or be auctioned.

While he did not have an exact number, White said the police recover hundreds of bicycles a year.

White said the idea of a registration program developed out of discussions with several Bloomington neighborhood associations.

The stickers are tamperproof and have a number that corresponds to information kept on file with police, White said.

Registration is free and can be completed any day of the week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the police department, 305 S. East St.

It is not necessary to bring the bicycle to the police department for the registration. Only the brand or make of the bicycle, color and serial number are required.