The Mountain View, CA police department caught a bike thief in the act last week in a quiet cul-de-sac and recovered several bikes in the alleged thief’s possession.

The thief was stealing bikes from an apartment parking lot on Cypress Point Drive in Mountain View when Johnny On the Spot called the police. The department posted images of the recovered bikes at their blog and ask the public’s help in identifying the owners.

To help with recovery if your own bikes are ever stolen, you should:

• Record the serial number of your bike, which you can find beneath the bottom bracket. The bottom bracket is the cylinder on the frame between the pedals. Flip your bike over now, shoot a photo of the serial number with your phone, and email it to yourself for safe keeping.
• Register your bike with your local police agency or fire department if this service is available.
• In the event of theft, file a police report and provide the serial that you saved. In California, police enter the serial number from recovered bikes into a statewide database of reported thefts. If you reported the theft and the bike is eventually recovered, you’ll get your bike back.

Mountain View police say several bikes have already been reunited with their owners. Remaining bikes can be seen here.

H/T to Zeaphod, Jenny, Janet, and others.