BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The number of bike thefts reported to the police has fallen in the past 12 months, with approximately 19,000 fewer incidents compared to the year before.
According to UK CrimeStats, using data gathered by the Economic Policy Centre, there were more than 90,000 reported incidents from July 2018 to June 2019, but from July 2019 to June 2020 this had dropped to 71,000 bicycle thefts – a 21% fall.
Despite a rise to 6,870 reported thefts in June, up from 5,700 in May, the long-term trend has been falling. The monthly average was 5,915 for July 2019 to June 2020, down from 7,513 for the preceding 12 months.
Greg Wilson, founder of Quotezone.co.uk, said: “It’s really positive to see such a significant drop in the number of bike thefts, especially when bike sales have spiked due to the pandemic and the subsequent push for people to get fit and lose weight – at a social distance.
“Hopefully this latest trend marks a continued decline in petty crimes like theft and burglaries, with lockdown teaching us a renewed sense of community spirit and fuelling the revival of local support networks such as neighbourhood watch.
“Although the total number of bicycle thefts is falling, the risk of theft hasn’t disappeared, which is why we’d encourage people, especially if they have made a significant investment in new bicycle equipment in recent months, to double-check that their home insurance covers their bike.
“If their bicycle isn’t covered, or if the single item limit on their home insurance policy means the coverage isn’t enough to meet their needs, we’d advise them to look into a standalone bicycle insurance policy for their new wheels.”
The research, presented by UK CrimeStats, covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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