Police team set up to tackle pedal cycle theft

A new unit has been formed in neighbouring Hackney to target the theft of pedal cycles on the borough has reunited 14 bikes with their rightful owners in its first two weeks of operation.

Hackney's Cycle Crime Unit has already undertaken two proactive operations, resulting in the recovery of nine high-value stolen pedal cycles, worth in the region of £6000.

One of the bikes reunited with its owner was originally bought in Switzerland. It had cost its owner, Yvonne Adenle, around £1000 to purchase and transport to the UK.

Mrs Adenle said: "I was amazed and delighted to get my bike back, which had been stolen in a burglary in August 2010.

"I brought it over from Switzerland and I am a Swiss national so it was more than just an object to me.

"I would urge every bike owner to register their frame number.

"Had I not done this and put it on the police report, the police could not have traced the bike back to me when it was recovered.

"The Hackney Cycle Crime Unit has since educated me about immobilise.com, a website where you can record your frame number and which the police can also search."

PC Maz Lovegrove of Hackney Police's Cycle Crime Unit said: "Our team is focused on cracking down on bike thieves operating in Hackney, reuniting stolen bikes with their owners and working with residents and visitors to help prevent them from becoming victims of bike theft or vandalism.

Unfortunately, sometimes the police exhaust all lines of inquiry and are unable to trace recovered bikes back to their owners.

Hackney's Cycle Crime Unit has been working with five charities in Hackney, which need bikes for their work.

So far 68 bikes have been donated to organisations, including:

+ Pedal Power - a cycle club for people with learning disabilities
+ Therapy and Life Skills Service at the City & Hackney Centre for Mental Health - working with adults with mental health issues
+ STA Bikes - community bike project

Hackney's Cycle Crime Unit can be contacted at: hackneycyclecrimeunit@met.police.uk

Bicycles (and other property) can be registered free on www.immobilise.com, the largest free register of possession ownership and searchable register of stolen goods.

In the event that the property is subsequently stolen, users can record any registered item as lost or stolen and this instantly appears on the Police National Stolen Equipment Database.

This online checking service is used by all the UK Police forces to trace owners of stolen property.