In response to increasing levels of cycle crime, a strong partnership approach with BikeRegister and a focus on prevention is helping to tackle theft and robbery offences involving high-value bikes. Since the launch of the initiative in July 2023, both bike theft and robbery have significantly decreased.

Due to the high value of pedal cycles and electric cycles now routinely being used by the public, there has been a significant increase in the number of bikes stolen through Serious Acquisitive Crime Offences, such as thefts, Burglary and Personal Robberies.

Merseyside data highlighted that 80% of the crimes dealt with involved a bicycles and e-bikes, either being used as a mode of transport to commit an offence or the item stolen. Within the Wirral area of Merseyside in particular, May 2023 saw a high number of personal robbery offences targeting bikes.

To combat this, Constable Pippa Wilcox, Force Prevention Hub, initiated a partnership with BikeRegister. Internally within the force, officers were trained on the uses of BikeRegister, including the implementation of routine BikeRegister checks during warrants and stop checks with the ultimate goal to make stolen bikes ‘too hot to handle’.

Alongside this, Merseyside Police promoted the use of BikeRegister by visiting all bike retailers in the region in order to train them on the benefits of BikeRegister and marking bikes at point of sale. They also introduced free bike marking for all students transitioning from primary to secondary schools.

One success story involved stop checking a group of youths while on patrol in the Wirral. After checking the bikes on BikeRegister, it revealed that one of the bikes was registered with BikeRegister and reported as stolen, which facilitated the successful recovery and return of the bike to its rightful owner. The other two bikes which were seized at the time of the patrol were marked and registered before being returned.

Constable Pippa Wilcox spoke about the BikeRegister initiative, saying: “Working with BikeRegister has allowed us to make a significant impact on bicycle crime across Merseyside. Not only from a preventative perspective, utilising their database means we have returned multiple stolen bikes with their rightful owners. Based on its success, we are now looking to mirror a similar initiative with mobile phones.”

Inspector Alan McKeon, Prevention Hub for Merseyside Police, has spoken about the partnership with BikeRegister, saying: “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting your bike registered on a trusted website like BikeRegister. Not only does it mean there is a higher likelihood of us being able to return a bike if it has been reported stolen, but it also gives us a greater opportunity to catch and convict offenders.“

For further information and images contact: Jodie Fisher, Marketing Executive for Selectamark.

Phone: +44 (0)1689 487829
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @bikeregister