Police crack down after 2000 bikes stolen every year in Oxford
Three police officers have been asked to tackle bike theft full-time
Oxford city has the fifth highest rate of bike theft in the country according to a new survey. Cyclists are more likely to have their bike stolen in Oxford than almost anywhere in the country. 2000 bikes are reported as stolen each year with a much higher estimated figure including the thousands of bike thefts that are never reported. According to Halifax General Insurance, Oxford has the fifth highest rate of claims across the nation.
Thames Valley Police have assigned three full-time police officers to deal solely with the bike theft issue. “We will be taking a much more proactive approach in dealing with the thefts, sometimes we may wear uniform, sometimes we may not”, says PC Jim Abrams, heading the team Tracking devices are being attached to decoy bikes around the city to attract thieves that can then be easily apprehended.
The approach is clearly working: four bicycle thieves were arrested in Abingdon on Monday night. Cat Clark, an English student at Somerville who was “gutted” to have her bike stolen from outside the college last term, said,”It’s just so hard to fit your bike in when the racks are so packed, I had to just lock the bike to itself.’ A spokeswoman from Somerville College said “We have about 20 racks outside the front gate but the majority of racks are inside the college.
“The college has no responsibility for the racks outside. If students need more racks they only have to ask,we did actually add more racks inside the college quite recently.” Cyclox, a cycling campaign group, have estimated that bike theft costs Oxford’s cyclists £500 000 a year. The group is campaigning for at least 600 more bike racks in the city centre. The group says, “Secure cycle racks greatly reduce theft and cyclists know their bike will be there when they get back.
While the Oxfordshire County Council installed new racks around the city last year, Cyclox believes more has to be done. James Styring, chairman of the group, says “they should be doing an awful lot more an awful lot more quickly. The Council needs to make decisions about the value of road space, they must consider replacing rail tracks and car park spaces for cycle racks.” “The County Council consists mainly of Conservatives that represent Oxford as a county.
There just isn’t enough sympathy or thought for people in the city that need places to securely park their bikes. There is a major conflict of interests.” Cyclox are keen to raise awareness of bike security, particularly among students who are the most frequent victims of bike theft. Styring advises, “Buy a good D-lock and lock it to an unmoveable object by both the back wheel and the frame. If you informally lock your bike to itself it will be much more likely to get stolen.
While Cyclox lobby the County Council to provide better bike security in the city, they are keen to encourage colleges to do the same. “I think there’s a big burden on the colleges to provide their students with better cycle security, but this is up to students to tackle.” A spokeswoman for Oxfordshire County Council said they had recently installed more bicycle racks around the city, in an attempt to prevent crime and aid the environment.
“This is great news for cyclists,” she added, “as the Council has been able to install additional cycle parking provision where cyclists need it most around the city centre. “I know that there has been great pressure for these racks to be installed. Increased opportunities for cyclists to move around Oxford will provide real choice for people with different transport modes in and out of the city.
The County Council will be considering further potential sites for bike racks as part of the next phase of town centre redevelopment. Turl Street and Carfax are likely areas to be targetted. This next phase is likely to be implemented in the summer of 2006.
20th Apr 2006