Cycle security advice

With more and more people cycling despite the colder weather can we remind people to take reasonable steps to secure them.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO MAKE A NOTE OF THE FRAME NUMBER.

This is stamped in to the metalwork usually below the pedal axle, turn the bike over and look at the metal tube where the pedals meet the frame.

That way if it is stolen when you report it to police we can record the frame number. If the bike is seen and checked by police they will know it's your stolen bike.

Further advice includes:-

Parking

Park and lock your bike at designated parking areas. Make sure the locks catch the bike frame as well as both wheels and the post.

The 'Three R's'

There are three simple steps that all cyclists should take so that if there bike is stolen they stand a good chance of being reunited with it:

Record – Keep a record for yourself of the frame number, make and any other marks that can identify your bike if it is stolen. The Cycle Taskforce run a number of bike marking events, details can be found at http://www.met.police.uk/transport/cycle_marking.html

Register – There are a number of websites where cyclists can register the details of their bikes and any distinguishing features/ frame numbers etc. The MPS have recently selected BikeRegister as the preferred cycle online registration service - www.bikeregister.com.

Report – If your bike is stolen then please make sure that you report it to the police. Bike theft is a significantly under reported crime. Reporting the theft will enable us to check databases and contact the owner once the bike is recovered.

YouTube videos

As part of the continuing campaign against cycle theft, TfL and the MPS Safer Transport Command have produced a video that advises cyclists on how to protect their bike, available from the TfL and MPS YouTube pages. You can also find the 'Exchanging Places' video on the MPS YouTube page, which raises awareness of the dangers of collisions between cyclists and large vehicles