Bike thefts soar in Ireland as 90 per cent of thieves get away with it; and that's official

The number of bikes being stolen across the Republic of Ireland has soared in the past five years, with new statistics showing a 76 per cent increase in cases despite most other crimes falling.

The new figures, which have been released in a new report on crime trends by the Central Statistics Office, also reveal that just 10 per of bike theft cases are detected; meaning that gardai have either solved the crime and have pressed charges or believe they know who the thief was but did not have enough evidence to take them to court.

The new report on overall crime rates between the years 2003 and 2011 is based on the Garda's crime figures which are compiled for publication by the CSO. It shows that crime has been falling over the past five years but that crimes related to property - such as thefts and burglaries - have been rising.

The increase in the level of bike thefts is the biggest increase of all types of crime, with the 76 per cent surge coming between 2008 and 2011; the precise period when the overall crime level in Ireland began to fall after increasing for years. The detailed crime figures for last year are not yet available.

The report does not explain the reasons why bike thefts have increased. However, the growing popularity of cycling means there are more bikes to steal and a growing market to sell the stolen ones into. The success of the cycle to work tax incentive scheme and the increase in popularity in the sportive sector are also believed to have impacted the bike theft trends.

For example, because the bike to work scheme offers a near 50 per cent discount for bikes valued at €1,000, many people who would previously have bought much cheaper bikes have opted for the more expensive ones. It means there are much higher numbers of expensive bikes in circulation now that would fetch much higher sale prices on the black market, making them more attractive to thieves.

The success of the sportive scene has also seen many people opt for expensive bikes worth several thousand euro; a price tag that would have been unheard of for most people buying a bike a decade ago save for those who raced.

Gardai have said in the past that part of the problem with solving bike thefts is that unless a thief is caught in the act it is often impossible to trace a bike. Even in cases where bikes have been seized during searches because it is suspected they are stolen, it is almost impossible to match the bike with the owner and so very difficult to determine with certainty if the bike has even been stolen.

We have gone through the CSO report and taken out the relevant statistics for you, which are in the table below.

As you can see, there were just under 5,200 bike thefts recorded in 2011; a huge figure. That number only includes the thefts that are reported to the guards, it does not include bikes stolen but whose owners simply do not report the crime. It means the real number of bike thefts in the Republic annually could be into five figures.

With so many bikes being robbed and so few of the crimes solved, it appears prevention is the only way to address the problem. So only lock your bike on a street when you have absolutely no other option, buy a good lock and secure your bike tightly. And make sure you have a secure storage space for your bikes at home. You have been warned!