In 2024, only 22 suspects were formally charged for bike thefts from train stations, a Freedom of Information request by Crush Crime reveals. This is just 0.5% of the 4,139 bikes reported stolen.

The data also show that over three years, ten stations saw hundreds of bikes stolen without a single person ever being charged

Dr Lawrence Newport, the director of the Crush Crime campaign group, told The Sun, “The data shows what we all know to be true: theft is now legal in Britain. Law enforcement has given up on ‘low-level crime’ in this country. 

“British Transport Police need to get back to work tracking down bike thieves and putting them behind bars where they belong.” 

Train station cycle rack signage 1.jpg
Train station cycle rack signage 1 (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

The total number of reported bike thefts has decreased, as in 2022, there were 6,956 reported thefts. However, there were also 238 people charged, which is a charge rate of 3.4%. 

In 2017, the charge rate was 6%, with 5,340 bicycles reported stolen and 322 people charged. However, this data only reflects the bikes that have been reported stolen. 

Last year, a sign was put up in Chichester, following a spate of reported bike thefts from a railway station’s supposedly secure cycle parking facility. 

The sign marked the “Chichester Bicycle Redistribution Point” and thanked cyclists for their “donations”. 

Chichester train station bike theft parody sign
Chichester train station bike theft parody sign (Image Credit: Chichester Anti-Recreation Partnership)

The anonymous campaigner put up the sign as he noticed, “the overwhelming majority of these incidents were happening in this specific spot at the station, which made it feel like an issue that needed highlighting in a memorable way.” 

In response, the BTP said, “Whilst we know that bike thefts are upsetting, inconvenient and potentially costly, there can often be limited opportunity for investigation. 

“Our experience tells us at an early stage that there are some crimes that are unlikely to ever be solved – such as those without a clear estimate of time or location for the incident or if there is a lack of CCTV or witnesses.” 

In October, the BTP said that they will not investigate bike thefts outside train stations if the bike has been left there for more than two hours.

The BTP denied that bike thefts have “been decriminalised”, and criticised the media coverage of this claim. 

However, they did confirm that “we will review around two hours of CCTV to try to identify the incident, but it is not proportionate to review longer periods as it keeps officers from being available to respond to emergencies, visibly patrolling railway stations and trains, investigating crimes with identified lines of enquiry or which cause the most harm to victims.”  

Stolen bike wheel.JPG
Stolen bike wheel (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

The BTP told the BBC, “Whilst we know that bike thefts are upsetting, inconvenient and potentially costly, there can often be limited opportunity for investigation. 

“Our experience tells us at an early stage that there are some crimes that are unlikely to ever be solved – such as those without a clear estimate of time or location for the incident or if there is a lack of CCTV or witnesses.” 

In response to this news, a British Cycling spokesperson told road.cc, “Bikes are a vital mode of transport, and a way to access work, education or vital services.

“The theft of a bike is a horrible experience shared by too many people across the country, and decriminalising this activity will only serve to deter more people from choosing cycling, whilst preventing those already riding a bike from continuing to do so.” 

Sophie Gordon from Cycling UK also told road.cc, “Bike theft is not a petty crime but has serious social consequences, and the police need to take it seriously – to have your means of getting around stolen can be devastating. 

“It’s not acceptable for the police to say they will be doing less to investigate theft when they should be doing more. Otherwise, it starts to feel like people should ‘See it. Say it. Sort it yourself.”