Gardai are moving to stem the growing problem of bike thefts; with a dedicated operation set up specifically to catch those profiting from the annoying and costly crime.
Gardaí have established a dedicated operation aimed at catching thieves behind the soaring rate of bike thefts in recent years.
Operation Spoke has been run in Dublin's north inner city where thefts are at runaway levels as commuters pour into the city centre every day for work; now using bikes in bigger numbers than ever.
The operation is staged for short periods, with intense activity focusing on the areas in the Bridewell garda station district where bike thefts are most frequent and also in monitoring those believed to be the prolific robbers.
In reply to a parliamentary question in the Dáil from Labour Party north Dublin TD Tommy Broughan, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said the operation had last been put in place on February 11th and 12th, adding 21 convictions had been secured.
Advertisement
"I am informed by the Garda authorities that Operation Spoke is an operation conducted within the Bridewell Garda District for specific periods of time on an ongoing basis," Shatter said.
"It was last put into effect on 11 and 12 February, 2014. I am further informed that Operation Spoke has resulted in 33 arrests resulting in 39 charges and 21 convictions.
"The main objective of the operation is to ensure a high visibility Garda presence in the District in order to prevent the unauthorised taking of bicycles.
"Local Gardaí also provide advice to members of the public on bicycle security and encourage them to register their bicycles."
While the convictions are to be welcomed, rates are modest compared to the growth in the number of bikes being stolen.
Indeed, news of Operation Spoke comes against the background of soaring bike thefts in the Republic in the past five years, with the most up to date statistics showing a 76 per cent increase despite most other crimes falling.
Bike theft, Dublin city centre
The figures, released in a 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 increase in the level of bike thefts is the biggest increase of any crime type, with the 76 per cent surge coming between 2008 and 2011. 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 them 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.
Because the bike to work scheme offers a 52 per cent discount for bikes valued at €1,000, many people who would previously have bought much cheaper mounts have opted for the more expensive ones, which are 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.
Related News
How to best lock your bike
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 was indeed robbed.
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!
The facts don’t lie – bike theft recorded cases
Year Recorded Detected % Detected
2003 2,941 117 4%
2004 2,849 173 6%
2005 2,943 183 6%
2006 3,149 241 8%
2007 3,351 284 8%
2008 3,025 301 10%
2009 4,226 422 10%
2010 4,660 580 12%
2011 5,176 505 10%
(Source: Recorded Crime Statistics 2003-2011, by the Central Statistics Office)
Topics
