Trafford News
Scheme launched to target rise in bicycle thefts in Trafford
11:42am Tuesday 7th February 2012
A SCHEME is in place to combat a growing number of bike thefts in Trafford.
The initiative has been launched by Trafford Council, Greater Manchester Police and Transport for Greater Manchester.
Cycle theft increased from 308 incidents between April 2010 to January 2011 to 444 in the same period one year later.
Ways to prevent this include fitting Immobilise tags to bikes and registering them on the National Property Database.
Decoy pedal cycles will be used in crime hotspots to catch out thieves and workshops will take place in town centres encouraging people to keep their bikes safe.
Executive councillor Jonathan Coupe said: “While we are proud of our track record in tackling and reducing crime, we are not complacent.
“We remain committed to working with residents, partners and other agencies to tackle this specific issue, which is currently detracting from the excellent progress we have made in reducing overall crime.”
Chief Inspector Robert Pell of GMP’s Trafford Division urged all cyclists to register their cycles at immobilise.com, an online database linked to police property systems that helps officers reunite people with their bikes if they are stolen and later found.
He said: “I would also like to remind cyclists that thieves are more likely to steal bikes secured only by a standard lock.
“If you are out and about, use the official cycle racks that are covered by CCTV, but if they are not available secure it to a heavy or bulky object that can't be moved.”