The alarm for rising bike thefts has once again been sounded, this time by staff across Nottingham’s hospitals after at least five bicycle thefts at City Hospital this year, while stolen bikes have become almost a “weekly thing” at the Queen's Medical Centre, as cyclists said the lack of CCTVs in the bike storage areas made it a perfect place for thieves to strike.
NottinghamshireLive reports that on July 19, one of the storage facilities at City Hospital was snuck into, with two bikes stolen after having their locks cut off.
Natapon Jantawong, a hospital chef who owns one of the stolen bikes, said the theft had left him “p***** off”. Workers said that there had been at least five bicycle thefts at City Hospital this year, with one saying it was an almost “weekly thing” at the Queen's Medical Centre.
The 30-year-old who cycles from Hucknall about four miles away, said that his bike, a Giant CRS 1.0 hybrid was a gift from his dad and was stolen from a secure compound next to the Eatwell restaurant. He added that to get into the storage, you just had to push a button that could be done through the fence.
“It’s quite close to the door so it’s easy to poke something through. I could easily get in without a pass,” he said, adding that a lack of CCTV made it “perfect for thieves”.
“It was in the middle of the day. It was very sunny, people were walking about. My bike’s not the first one to get nicked, two of my colleagues had them nicked before.”
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Gabriel Tanase, a catering assistant who cycles to work at both hospitals, said security at the City site was “basically non-existent”.
Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham (Google Maps)
“NUH encourages you come by bike, there’s a cycle to work programme. How can you if you know there’s been so many thefts?,” said the 39-year-old. He said the situation was even worse at the QMC, where thefts are a “weekly thing”.
Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), which runs the sites, said it had increased the number of security patrols and planned to open a new secure compound next month. Nottinghamshire Police said they had also increased the number of patrols around the hospitals, but they dropped these recent investigations as there were no witnesses and “no other viable lines of inquiry”.
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Ian Johnson, head of security at NUH said: “We have increased the number of physical patrols from our security team in and around the cycle and motorcycle compounds. All cycle compounds across our sites are only accessible with a staff ID card. We will soon be opening a new cycle compound at City Hospital with increased security.
“We have regular meetings with local police to discuss cycle safety across both sites and have introduced a new Let’s Talk Travel group for staff to raise concerns or questions.” PC Sarah Barnes, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “In response to reports, we have increased uniform and plain clothes patrols around hospitals to show would-be criminals that we will not tolerate this type of crime.
“Unfortunately, in some circumstances we are unable to get the vital pieces of evidence to solve the crimes - but this does not mean we will give up. Any new evidence that comes to light will always be investigated.” The force added it had arrested and charged a 30-year-old man in connection with the theft of a bike from the QMC in March.
NUH said the new 120-bike compound, which is expected to open by late August, will have an interlocking two-door system that can only be accessed with staff ID. The trust said the area will also be monitored by CCTV cameras.
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Same applies to lots of places where people should be happy to use their bikes - but there is no security
Our local Tesco have been trying to stop people bringing their bikes inside and locking them to railing - because there is a decent bike park outside
But I have checked and there is no security and no CCTV
I go to a local library once a week as a volunteer - biek praking is 3 of those wheel breaker things and out of sight and no CCTV
encouraging people to be more active is fine and cycle paths are being done - but the little things are often missed
little things like secure(ish) bike parking and decent signs on cycle paths so people know it is a cycle path!
This is a big issue with cycling in the UK, bike storage is beyond poor. I'm lucky, my employer provides a bike rack that is located in a secure compound. And the secure compound is located in our secure car park. CCTV cameras are all over the place so I sit at my desk comforted that my bike is as well protected as reasonably expected.
But, once I leave work and cycle into the big bad world, where can I leave my bike whilst out in the wild? Supermarkets provide either nothing or token gesture bike racks with no security whatsoever. Same with town centres and retail parks. For example, I cycle past my local Halfords daily, but there's no way I'm popping in there to pick up a say, a spare inner tube, whilst I'm passing. Instead, I'll drive over especially because at least my car is harder to steal than my bike.
It's alright to provide white lines along carriageways and shared paths. But we also need proper, decent, and secure storage at our destinations too. Again, this is where the Netherlands beat us hands-down.
You'd think that these hotspots for theft would be prime candidates for a police sting operation, wouldn't you?
It'd be easy enough to arrange a honeypot bike with a tracker inside. Lock it up and once the bike gets nicked, the police can swoop in and catch the thieves.
I suppose they're tou under resourced to participate in such activities
I wondered about entrapment, but a quick google says:
"There is no defence of entrapment in English law but it is considered to be an abuse of the process of the court for state agents to lure a person into committing illegal acts and then seek to prosecute him for doing so."
https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/legal/guidance/entrapment
So I guess they could as the scrote would be going there to nick a bike in the first place and wouldn't be specifically lured![7](https://cdn.road.cc/sites/all/modules/contrib/smiley/packs/smilies/7.gif)
If the honeypot bike was left unlocked, then it could be argued by the defence that it was just opportunist, but if it's left locked up with a typical cheap lock, then that would be less likely to be believed.
In France we have company work councils. I represent the employees and a union on our company work council and we have a meeting each month to discuss employee issues such as this. I commute by bicycle and thanks to the work council I have been able to work with the company management to get a secure and practical place to store bicycles. 5 years ago only two people came by bicycle but now there is secure store there are more than 50. Does the equivalent to a work council exist in the UK?
Does the equivalent to a work council exist in the UK?
no. That smacks of the EUSSR.
The European Union of Sensible and Sagacious Regulations?
I worked at a Midlands Hospital for 25+ years. From 2010 until retirement I cycled the 10 miles to work as often as I could - often several times a week. Bike security was terrible. I used to keep two U-locks on the bike stands for my frame and take the front wheel off and keep it above my locker in the operating theatre changing room.
But after several bikes were stolen, in broad daylight using bolt cutters etc and watched by visitors and were gone by the time security arrived , I switched to keeping my bike in my shared office. This meant walking it through A&E and up 2 flights of stairs. The office got pretty cramped some days when the other 4 brought their bikes too. But at least it was there at home time.
It is a shame it does not exist, in France it exists for all companies with more than 50 employees. While the employee representatives cannot force decisions, it does allow discussion of issues and if the company does decide to spend some money on something we can ensure it is spent on a solution that actually works rather than something some manger thinks works.
Why, that sounds like a grown-up and respectful way to carry on that could lead to a more productive and happier workforce, no wonder so many people voted to avoid that sort of nonsense!