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London bike-jackings on the rise, with lone riders vulnerable

Towpaths and Quietways the hot-spots for gangs targeting riders

Bike-jackings in London are on the rise, with lone riders on towpaths and Quietwaysparticularly vulnerable to attacks by gangs looking to steal bicycles or accessories such as GPS units. 

The London Evening Standard reports that the latest figures from the Metropolitan Police show a 13 per cent rise in recorded robberies of bicycles or accessories last year, up from 1,140 in 2018 to 1,287.

By borough, Haringey saw the biggest rise, more than trebling from 40 to 130. In Westminster, robberies near-doubled to 95, while the greatest number of incidents last year happened in Hackney, where they stood at 145.

While below the 20 per cent rise in all robberies across the capital last year – those involving bicycles or accessories account for 3.4 per cent of the total – the figures are a cause for concern and the incidents can be traumatic for victims as well as deterring people from riding alone or in quiet areas.

Among those targeted was Simon Munk, infrastructure campaigner at the London Cycling Campaign, who told the Standard: “I was riding along the Greenway, suddenly there’s loads of people on mopeds with metal bars riding after me, so I’m pelting it for my life, and managed luckily to get away.

“Cyclists are expected to use isolated, often dark, low-footfall areas,” he added.

In response, the Metropolitan Police have been targeting bikes they believe have been stolen.

The problem of gangs targeting cyclists, particularly on canal and river towpaths, has been of increasing concern in recent years.

In 2017, we reported how a cyclist said that a route along the River Lea near Hackney Marches had become a no-go zone for bike riders after he was assaulted and robbed.

Several other similar incidents took place nearby later on that year.

Other incidents we have covered in the past include ones on the Paddington Branch of the Grand Union Canal, and on the Regent’s Canal close to Victoria Park, but the issue is not confined to London, of course.

In recent weeks on road.cc, we have reported on how South Wales Police are urging cyclists to avoid the Taff Trail at night, advice that saw the force accused of “victim shaming” by Cycling UK.

We also covered an incident in Reading in which a group of 10 riders were targeted by a gang of youths who stole two bikes and left two riders needing hospital treatment.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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6 comments

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brooksby | 4 years ago
3 likes

In other news, the police have warned that they aren't going to bother about any crime except where the perpetrator is stood there with a bl00dy machete and a sworn statement that they did it, guv, in the event of a Covid-19 epidemic.

Expect all crime, not just property crime, to go through the roof... 

Avatar
eburtthebike | 4 years ago
2 likes

The comment about cyclists being expected to use badly lit, deserted routes is most apposite.  If pedestrians are warned not to walk in such places for their own safety, why are cyclists directed to them, and why isn't this a design criterion?

Yet another reason for people not to ride bikes.  The criteria for cycle routes in Holland include directness, attractiveness and safety, none of which apply in the UK.

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BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP | 4 years ago
0 likes

This has been going on for years in London. I know of at least 5 friends who have been attacked, the most recent just before Xmas.  As my friend said to me - I would have given them the bike why did they have to punch me to the ground?  (They fractured his jaw) His bike was worth about 20 - 40 quid on the second hand market. 
bromptons are very popular with the little tea leafs. 

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HoarseMann | 4 years ago
4 likes

sounds like it's either ninja cycling lessons or one of these...

https://cyclehistory.wordpress.com/2015/10/03/guns-wheels-and-steel-cycl...

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handlebarcam | 4 years ago
1 like

Great, bike-jackings, a new awful thing to add to the list.

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BadgerBeaver replied to handlebarcam | 4 years ago
0 likes

handlebarcam wrote:

Great, bike-jackings, a new awful thing to add to the list.

 

You are right, of course. 

 

However it's been my contention ever since we were burgled that If You Have Nice Things People Will Thieve Them.

If you want to go through life not being the subject of theft, don't have nice things. But then another post on this forum spoke of jaw being broken for the sake of a bike worth £20 - £40 second hand. This only helps be draw a slightly different conclusion: Some People Are Horrid. 

The first conclusion helps me decide if I really want to buy something fancy. The second just helps me gird my loins whenever I go out the front door. The latter is a lot sadder, don't you think?

 

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