Bike thefts in London are down 10 percent since October last year, thanks to an initiative called Project Cycle Ops, Transport for London says.
The number of bike thefts in London from October 2012 to the end of August 2013 was 19,052, compared with 21,488 in 2012 and 20,411 in 2011 over the same time period. Against a three-year average (used to flatten out fluctuations caused by spells of extreme weather) bike theft is down by 10.3 per cent.
Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor of London’s Cycling Commissioner, said: "Many people who have their bikes stolen simply give up cycling, so cracking down on this crime is essential for the Mayor's ambition to double the number of cyclists. In the months ahead, you will see more initiatives from us to pile further pressure on the thieves and shrink the market in stolen bikes."
2,000 unclaimed bikes
If you’ve had a bike stolen and didn’t report it, it’s possible the police have recovered it. There are over 2,000 unclaimed bikes in police stations across London and the police have launched a photo gallery on Flickr in an attempt to get bikes and other items of stolen property back to their owners:
Project Cycle Ops is a collaboration between TfL, the Metropolitan Police Service, British Transport Police and the City of London Police. Over the last year the forces have security marked and registered over 40,000 bikes on BikeRegister.com, which helps to deter thieves and reunite people with their bikes if they are lost or stolen.
As well as encouraging people to get their bikes registered and security marked, police suggest that you ask to see proof of ownership and registration before buying a second-hand bike.
Combatting the trade in stolen bikes has been a major part of Project Cycle Ops. Gumtree.com now displays a message advising users to check a bike’s serial number against bikeregister.com and offering other tips to spot stolen bikes and scams.
Police have also worked behind the scenes with Gumtree to catch thieves in the act as they attempt to sell bikes and bike parts online.
