Anyone seen a Trek Madone 5.2? It’s a mid-range racing bicycle meant to hit the pavement for the Tour de France with space-age technology. That’s the way Eric Abbott, 47, described his bicycle that was stolen from his South Hill home in late July. In between racing near Riverside State Park and packing up his family’s home for a move across the state, it was plucked away from the garage.

“I walked into the garage, turned around - something felt strange like the hair was standing up on the back of my neck,” Abbot described. He asked himself, “Where’s my bike?”

It’s a common woe to hear in Spokane following the theft of property. Abbott followed the proper routine of filing a police report, insurance claims, calling major bike shops and starting his online patrol of Craigslist and eBay. He hopes to have it returned, but that possibility looks slim.

If you’re not a fan of the crime rate in Spokane, neither is the website Spokane Sucks. Signs have been pasted all around the city of Spokane, advertising www.spokanesucks.com.

A video published on Youtube explains with a female voice over that the city has lost focus on its priorities while local media says crime is decreasing. The video says that’s not the case. The video cites the website Neighborhood Scout for the city’s safety rating listing a 2 out of 100 based on the number of annual crimes in Spokane. Neighborhood Scout says a rating of 100 is the safest.

The Massachusetts-based company Location, Inc. runs Neighborhood Scout and uses data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine the safety rating for a city. The FBI’s number is determined by the amount of crimes reported by local law enforcement agencies.

They call themselves the eyes of police officers. Senior volunteers with Spokane COPS wear the blue and perform patrols, but they’re not officers of the law. Through donated time to the non-profit program, they help how they can by directing traffic during Bloomsday, prevent crime through education and even check on homes while residents are on vacation.

We caught up with two volunteers while they sat on their coffee break at east Spokane’s Donut Parade. They’re right in home with the regulars. Both Hazel Vercruysse, 87, and Dennis Eddy, 71, had wrapped up their house checks for the morning. They only average about five house checks a week, but explained the extra presence out there helps.

“We had one on east 2nd [avenue] today,” Eddy recounted. “We checked out a house and there was a lady inside the house and there wasn’t supposed to be.”

The woman turned out to be a sister of the resident, but in times like that, Eddy explained they have to find out who and why they’re there. Sometimes they have to call in an officer especially when they come across broken doors and windows.