By Elise Shuey
E-scooter thefts were the most common form of motor vehicle theft on the University of Maryland campus for the past three years, according to the University of Maryland Police Department.
The increase in e-scooters on campus began in 2021, when students returned after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 2022, campus motor vehicle theft numbers have more than tripled. Police say that under the Clery Act, a federal act requiring all colleges and universities to make their security and crime data public, e-scooters are classified as motor vehicles when it comes to reporting theft data.
Lt. Rosanne Hoaas, a public information officer with UMPD, said out of the 287 motor vehicle thefts reported in 2024, 261 of those were e-scooter thefts.
“The majority of the stat numbers for the 2023 report were, again, the majority were e-scooters,” Hoaas said.
In 2023, around 62% of all motor vehicle thefts were reported to be e-scooters. In 2022, approximately 81% of motor vehicle thefts were e-scooters, according to Hoaas.
From Jan. 1 to Sept. 25 of 2025, campus police have responded to 56 e-scooter thefts. There has been an overall decrease in the frequency of thefts. However, there is still the rest of the year for that number to change.
The University of Maryland Department of Transportation Services enforced restrictions on private e-scooter ownership beginning Aug. 1, stating that students are no longer permitted to keep and charge the vehicles if they live in on-campus residence buildings. Hoaas reported that there have not been any notable changes in e-scooter theft trends on campus since these regulations were announced.
Along with vehicles parked with no security, most of the e-scooter theft on campus involves insecure and improperly locked vehicles.
“Sometimes we get theft cases involving [secured e-scooters], but the lock that was utilized was a more flexible style,” Hoaas said. “It was put around the scooter in a way that was easy to pull the lock away, because there was no tension, and it could just slip out from the lock.”
Hoaas advised that students should also pay attention to the detachable parts of their bikes and emphasized that students should be mindful about how they secure their vehicles in order to prevent theft.
UMPD has multiple resources to combat the issue of e-scooter theft. Hoaas said there is a wide range of campus cameras that are monitored 24/7, including the Information Analysis Unit, which analyzes incident reports and publicizes its research to help with theft prevention and investigation. Police have also increased detailed patrolling, attempting to stop theft incidents the moment they take place.
Featured Image: A bike and a fallen scooter outside Benjamin Building on Feb. 24, 2025. Photo by Anika Stikeleather
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to better reflect a statement by Lt. Rosanne Hoaas. Previous version: “Hoaas advised that students should also pay attention to the detachable parts of their e-scooters. Campus police have responded to cases involving stolen scooter parts, not just entire scooters.” Current version: “Hoaas advised that students should also pay attention to the detachable parts of their bikes.”