Cycling UK Forum

horizon wrote:That's at least some good news nuke. Can I ask again if they were locked and with what - I am not suggesting they should have been even if they were not, just wondering which locks make any difference at all.

Thefts from garages do occur in various parts of the country. As 531colin pointed out, most garage doors are vulnerable but can be hardened by the use of internal locking devices which can be retro fitted. The aim is to secure the door internally and prevent access being gained by peeling the lower corners.

Make sure whichever product you use is rated by sold secure (www.soldsecure.com) and or have achieved standard LPS 1175.

I have heard of some people who have parked their car against their garage door to protect their bike (depends how much you love your car)!

For inside the garage I would recommend installing a motorcycle ground anchor and using a motorcycle chain and lock (all of which should be rated sold secure - gold).

Be careful to lock your bike(s) so that the chain is off the ground which will make it much more difficult to defeat.

If you use two different types of locks on your bike then it will act as a deterrant as different tools are required to defeat different locks. The chances are greater that the offenders will not have all the tools they need.

if you have an intruder alarm system in your home, then it might be possible to extend it into the garage. Alternatively, you can purchase a shed or garage alarm that is not monitored, but will make a loud enough noise to either deter the offender and / or alert you or your neighbours.

I hope this helps,

PC Frank

crazydavid,
As the other posters have stated, online auction sites are an easy way to dispose of stolen goods.

In general many police forces do not have the resources to search these sites to look for suspect listings.

However, if anyone sees a listing which they are suspicious of, I would encourage them to contact the force where the seller is located using the non-emergency number (which will be found on that force's website).

I can't guarantee the response you will get (each of the 43 geographical forces in the Uk work in different ways), but if the police don't know anything about it, then we can't do anything.

Here in Bristol we have had success in the area as there is an officer in our Burglary Team who is an avid cyclist. A suspect posting was found, with assistance from ebay a dummy bid was made, a plain clothes officer was sent to 'buy' the bike, seller arrested and bike (which I think was registered on immobilise.com) was returned to owner.

Regards,

PC Frank

gsdavies wrote:Shouldn't the police be dealing with proper crime? You know, drugs, guns, violent assualts, burglary, theft of bicycles etc?

Yes I know the letter of the law says that it's an 'offence' to ride a bike on the pavement but the law and basic common sense were never particularly best friends.

I wouldn't be happy for my child to ride on the road until at least secondary school age and had some proper training around roadcraft. If there's only a handful of peds about, where the real harm in using the pavement? If the pavements are bursting with peds, get off and push..


These days you could probably get a conviction for cycling on a footpath quashed on 'compassionate grounds' and released early, or just take it to the European Court of Human Rights...


Just my point of view anyway..

The law grants police officers discretion when dealing with lower level issues such as moving traffic offences. This gives the officer a number of options (dependant on the situation) including providing words of advice; issuing a fixed penalty notice; reporting an offender for summons; and arrest.

In the case of children riding on the pavement with parents, this discretion will mean that members of the public may experience different responses from different officers, depending on the particular circumstance of the incident.

However, I think it's fair to say that no-one needs to be concerned about children being dragged off to the police station, and most officers will take a common sense approach to this issue.

From a purely personal perspective, as a parent myself, I understand the worry of your children riding on busy and / or dangerous roads (the number of road traffic collisions I have attended over the years have reinforced this). I would deal with young or inexperienced child cyclists riding slowly on the pavement whilst being supervised, differently to an adult riding at high speed and weaving through a group of elderly ladies.

I would echo the other recommendations to seek out bikeability training. I recently assisted a colleague in training some school children in stage 1 bikeability. This consisted of teaching them how to conduct safety checks on their bikes, wear their helmets correctly and testing their skills through a series of games such as "bike sumo"(!)

The children had a great time and everyone who took the course passed and gained valuable road safety skills in a fun way.

Please visit www.bikeability.org.uk and click on 'Bikeability near you' to find your nearest training.

Hope this helps.

patricktaylor wrote:If you search Google for mobile phone tracking service you'll see there are several, including http://www.traceamobile.co.uk/

But if you're out on a ride and you get knocked out, how long will it be before someone raises the alarm, and what level of alarm? Will they track your position and come and search? Of course if they call the police, your phone can be tracked. All this assumes it's on and you have a signal (I think).

Really, the best thing is not to get knocked out.

It is true that the police can track mobile phone signals, but most forces do not have facilities to pin point a specific location and may have to search a large area.

My recommendation would be if possible that you let someone know your route, so that if you don't return and the police are contacted, they know where to search. I realise this is not so much fun if you improvise your route, but it is safer.

Kirst wrote:My bike doesn't have a frame number.

There are electronic tags available which are concealed in the bike frame. These are linked to the immobilise website and the serial number on the microchip can act as an identifying number for your bike.

Please visit www.immobilise.com for more details.

Hi everyone,
Here is something that everyone on the forum can do.....and it's free (yippee)!!

Register your bike on www.immobilise.com which is a property registration website that is supported by most UK police forces.

When you visit the site you will be asked to enter your email address and confirm. You will then be asked how you heard of the website. If you are registering as a result of what I am posting, then please highlight 'Bristol Police'.

You will then be asked to add an inventory item and will be able to select a form for bikes. Complete the details including the frame number as an identifier. The more detail you add, the better. You can also add an image of your bike.

After you have registered your bike, keep an eye on your email account for an email confirming your login name and password (this may take as long as a few weeks). Don't forget to check your junk mail folder as the message may land in there.

Once you have your account details, you can log in to your account and add details of mobile phones, laptops and just about anything electrical which has a serial number.

If your bike (or other item) is lost or stolen, and comes into police possession, then it should be checked on a separate secure law enforcement database which is linked to immobilise. If it is on there, then your lost posseion can be returned to you.

Furthermore, if the check is done on the street whilst in the clutches of a criminal, they can be arrested and hopefully charged with theft (hurrah)!

The effectiveness of this system relies upon people registering their belongings on immobilise - so the more of you that take advantage of this, the better.

There is nothing more frustrating than stopping some one on a bike that you know is stolen (copper's instinct), and having to let them and the bike go, because you can't prove that it's not their bike.

"Aha PC Frank" I hear you cry "What if I register my bike, and the so-and-so who steals it grinds off the frame number"?

Many bike theives are so brazen that they don't bother to conceal the identity of the bike. Also, if you explore the immobilise website, you will find a product which helps to negate this.

Stay safe and vigilant,

PC Frank

rbrian wrote:When you recover stolen goods, do you always run the serial numbers? Always? And what percentage of stolen goods are recovered? Not that I want to be too cynical, but it's hard not to be. Every little helps, I suppose.

PS- It's ne'er-do-well, an abbreviation of never-do-well. [/pedant]

Thanks for the correction. English has never been my strong suit.

There are three detained property stores at Police stations in Bristol. I have just finished recording the frame numbers of every bike in two stations and I will be visiting the third next week. These numbers and descriptions will then searched on immobilise.com in an attempt to locate owners.

From next week, there will be an officer assigned to undertake this work in Bristol full time searching both bikes and mobile phones.

So if you ride in Bristol, I would encourage you to register your bike on www.immobilise.com to increase the odds of having it returned if it comes into police possession.

thirdcrank wrote:

PC Frank wrote:... There are many asset registration products available which are all effective. However, for every product, the police need to buy whichever scanner or detector is required to identify bikes with that particular.

Most of these cost several hundred pounds and for Bristol we would need at least three for each detained property store or ten for each station. Pretty expensive.

This is an issue across all the forces in England & Wales and so the decision had to be made for us to endorse one system. As immobilise has free registration, the Home Office have endorsed this system. ...

http://www.immobilise.com

The immobilise site does not have any information about national sole endorsement by all police forces and the Home Office. Indeed, there is a little window where the badges of forces using the system appear two at a time. I counted only 14, including the British Transport Police and at least one Scottish force (no name on badge.) As you point out, there are some 43 'Home Office' forces in England and Wales, that leaves 31 whose badge is not displayed and I think it would be useful to have clarification of this. I appreciate that your advice is directed primarily at your local residents but you were the one who mentioned a common approach across police forces and this is a national forum (and criminals have been known to travel - especially on stolen bikes.)

After my home had been burgled last summer, I was given a free supply of smartwater http://www.smartwater.com/Home.aspx by my local force (West Yorkshire Police.) I appreciate that this is not a tracking device, but rather a uniquely identifiable marker, visible only with ultraviolet light, but your comments about competing systems might apply equally.

I took my information from a publication describing immobilise as being supported by "...UK Police services and the Home Office..." in 2005. I appreciate that this may not be on the website. Apologies for any confusion.

There are several forensic marking fliuds available on the market. They may be a suitable option for marking components, however, I am unsure how they will stand up to exposure to the great outdoors. Would be best to check with the company making the product you are thinking of using. Always check the product is Secured by Design approved (www.securedby design.com).

Alan D wrote:Hello Frank,
Where does Datatrak fall into your scheme? Both of my bikes are 'chipped & logged' and well advertised with a permanent sticker prominently displayed on the frame, so do I also need to register with your scheme? Are 'chipped' bikes less likely to get nicked?
Keep up the good work, glad to have you around.
Alan

There are many asset registration products available which are all effective. However, for every product, the police need to buy whichever scanner or detector is required to identify bikes with that particular.

Most of these cost several hundred pounds and for Bristol we would need at least three for each detained property store or ten for each station. Pretty expensive.

This is an issue across all the forces in England & Wales and so the decision had to be made for us to endorse one system. As immobilise has free registration, the Home Office have endorsed this system.

Alan - I would recommend that you register your bike on immobilise as datatrak registered bikes are not included on the immobilise database.

I have no evidence that 'chipped' bikes are less likely to be stolen. However, I would suggest that visible stickers advertising that the bike is chipped would be a deterrant.

There is also an electronic chip product which is linked to immobilise and can be found on www.immobilise.com

Hi all,
For your information my email is frank.simonds@avonandsomerset.pnn.police.uk if you need to contact me outside the forum.

rjb - I do just cover Bristol, but email me with your address and I will let you know who you local crime reduction officer is.

In relation to the issues you have when reporting: firstly you are correct that the modifications which you guys make to your bikes do serve to make them more identifiable. However, there are only a small number of officers who are committed cyclists and would be able to identify bikes by their components.

Also, the avon and somerset crime reporting system is computerised and their are limited fields for the entry of free text.

If you are a victim of cycle theft in Bristol and you wish to let the police have a copy of your component list, then I recommend that you contact the Avon and Somerset Force Service Centre on 0845 456 7000.

Explain that you wish to send some additional information to add to the incident you reported and they will provide you with the address to send it to.

Remember to include the incident reference number so that the information you provide can be linked with the original report.

Bare in mind that due to the small number of officers with detailed knowledge of bikes - the information you send in may not increase the chances of your bike being recovered. I'm not trying to be pessemistic here - I just don't want to get people's hopes up.

On a more positive note. Here is something that everyone on the forum can do.....and it's free (yippee)!!

Register your bike on www.immobilise.com which is a property registration website that is supported by most UK police forces.

When you visit the site you will be asked to enter your email address and confirm. You will then be asked how you heard of the website. If you are registering as a result of what I am posting, then please highlight 'Bristol Police'.

You will then be asked to add an inventory item and will be able to select a form for bikes. Complete the details including the frame number as an identifier. You can also add an image of your bike.

After you have registered your bike, keep an eye on your email account for an email confirming your login nmae and password (this may take as long as a few weeks). Don't forget to check your junk mail folder as the message may land in there.

Once you have your account details, you can log in to your account and add details of mobile phones, laptops and just about anything electrical which has a serial number.

If your bike (or other item) is lost or stolen, and comes into police possession, then it should be checked on a separate secure law enforcement database which is linked to immobilise. If it is on there, then your lost posseion can be returned to you.

Furthermore, if the check is done on the street whilst in the clutches of a nare-do-well, they can be arrested and hopefully charged with theft (hurrah)!

The effectiveness of this system relies upon people registering their belongings on immobilise - so the more of you that take advantage of this, the better.

There is nothing more frustrating than stopping some one on a bike that you know is stolen (copper's instinct), and having to let them and the bike go, because you can't prove that it's not their bike.

"Aha PC Frank" I hear you cry "What if I register my bike, and the nare-do-well who steals it grinds off the frame number"?

Many bike theives are so brazen that they don't bother to conceal the identity of the bike. Also, if you explore the immobilise website, you will find a product which helps to negate this.

Stay safe and vigilant,

PC Frank

Hello everyone,
I am a new user on this forum and wanted to introduce myself to you all.

My name is Frank and I am a police officer working with the Community Safety Team at Newfoundland Road Police Station.

One of my roles is to reduce bike theft in Bristol city over the next two years in tandem (haha) with the timetable for cycling city.

I wanted to join this forum so that users would have an opportunity to contact me directly and discuss the issue of bike theft.

Now for the contriversal part.......are you ready........(deep breath).......I am not a cyclist.

However, I do know something about crime reduction and I am concerned about the level of theft in the city and want to help prevent people becoming victim's of crime.

I hope that my presence on this forum will be of benefit to you. I won't always be able to provide the result you desire, and I won't always be able to tell you everything the police is doing (some of it is a bit secret squirrel). But I wil do my best to assist and advise you.

There are 43 geographical police forces in the UK, and they all organise themselves differently, therefore if you live outside of Bristol and have an enquiry, I will be unable to assist you - sorry.

Cheers,

Frank

PC 1422 Frank Simonds
Crime Prevention Design Advisor
Bristol Community Safety Team
Newfoundland Road Police Station

Graham edit : Copied & stickied from the original posting.

Hello everyone,
I am a new user on this forum and wanted to introduce myself to you all.

My name is Frank and I am a police officer working with the Community Safety Team at Newfoundland Road Police Station.

One of my roles is to reduce bike theft in Bristol city over the next two years in tandem (haha) with the timetable for cycling city.

I wanted to join this forum so that users would have an opportunity to contact me directly and discuss the issue of bike theft.

Now for the contriversal part.......are you ready........(deep breath).......I am not a cyclist.

However, I do know something about crime reduction and I am concerned about the level of theft in the city and want to help prevent people becoming victim's of crime.

I hope that my presence on this forum will be of benefit to you. I won't always be able to provide the result you desire, and I won't always be able to tell you everything the police is doing (some of it is a bit secret squirrel). But I wil do my best to assist and advise you.

There are 43 geographical police forces in the UK, and they all organise themselves differently, therefore if you live outside of Bristol and have an enquiry, I will be unable to assist you - sorry.

Cheers,

Frank

PC 1422 Frank Simonds
Crime Prevention Design Advisor
Bristol Community Safety Team
Newfoundland Road Police Station