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Just 30 minutes to steal a bike in Central London
Last updated at 12:37pm on 08.01.07Thirty minutes is how long it took to demonstrate just how fast bike theft is growing in London.
More than 70 bicycles are stolen in London every day with official figures showing a 30 per cent rise and a doubling of thefts in almost four years.
In the financial year 2005-06, a total of 21,236 bicycles were reported stolen, the highest figure in recent years.
But with an average of 74 stolen a day the annual total is projected to rise to more than 27,000.
The Evening Standard decided to test how long it would take for one bicycle to go missing from a London street.
We bought a man's black Carrera Subway 1, a seven-speed gear bike with a sturdy lightweight frame, popular with city commuters, for £100 from a dealer in Kensington High Street.
On Saturday afternoon at 4pm the bicycle was locked to some empty racks outside Kentish Town West station, using a cable lock.
Most passers-by walked straight past without noticing it.
After 10 minutes, a couple of men in their twenties saunteredpast, glanced at it and continued walking.
They returned a minute later but did not hang around.
Five minutes later, a boy in a hooded raincoat and with a West Highland White terrier went past the bicycle, walking away from Kentish Town.
After noticing it, he stopped, turned around, and headed back in the direction he came from.
A few minutes later he returned and left again. He did this a number of times before scanning the area to see if anybody was watching.
Then he walked up to the bicycle with his back towards any potential onlookers.
He removed something from his pocket and bent over the bicycle.
In less than a minute the lock had been removed and the boy was casually wheeling it towards the neighbouring park.
It was 4.30pm, half an hour after it had been locked up.
When confronted, the boy said he had taken the bicycle because he thought its owner had dumped it.
Without any further explanation, he willingly handed it back.
Police attribute the rise in bicycle thefts mainly on the increasing popularity of cycling, as well as the use of more expensive machines, which are often stolen for sale at markets, car boot sales or on auction websites such as eBay.
Transport for London says the number of cycle journeys has increased by 70 per cent in the past six years to 450,000 a day.
Cycling groups believe the majority of thefts are not reported and estimate that as many as 80,000 bicycles are taken every year with fewer than five per cent returned.
Graham Tope, Liberal Democrat policing spokesman on the London Assembly, said: "Many bikes are left unattended or unlocked but this is not helped by the Met failing to take bike theft more seriously.
We need to see better-targeted investment in cycling facilities, including secure racks in well-lit areas, educational packages and an integrated cycle network."
Road safety campaigner and London Assembly Green member Jenny Jones said: "The more cyclists we get the more this is going to happen unless the police start taking it seriously.
Car crime is high up their agenda but bike crime does not seem to register at all.
Some bikes are probably more expensive than some cars."
Islington recorded the highest number of thefts in 2005-6 (1,821) followed by Camden (1,521) and Westminster(1,453).
Detective Superintendent Martin Rusling said high rates in boroughs such as Islington and Camden were partly due to the number of colleges and university teaching hospitals.
He said: "We get a lot of reports of stolen bikes which are recovered very quickly. They tend to get ridden from one side of the campus to the other."
He advised registering bicycles with immobilise.com
Reader views (11)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
Taking your front wheel off to secure it is rubbish. You're far better to invest in a set of Pitlock skewers which make life much simpler and probably safer too. Re the other lock(s), if you don't want to lose your bike buy Kryptonite 3000 D Lock for about £70 and possibly another different lock if you're in a high risk area. If you don't mind losing your bike, you can buy cheaper, but the vaue of the lock should have nothing to do with the value of your bike, it simply depends on how much you want to keep your bike.
- Bikepigeon, Barcelona, Spain
the thing to do is not buy a lock and chain from a bicycle company buy one made by an iron monger which has a high carbon content
- John, london
Just had my bike stolen, fifteen minutes after being left, locked up,right outside a busy entrance to sainsburys with security and CCTV. Very annoying. An expensive lock and insurance is a lesson to be learnt or though you would think I had taken enough precautions!
- Lucinda London, London
We fixed a d Lock to our bike and broke into it in less than a minute. This weekend in the middle of Newcastle City Centre.
We test locks and chains to see how long they last. We have defeated many many, Thatcham, Sold Secure & Art Approved locks & chains, all in seconds.
Rob - Cable locks take mere seconds to defeat, so we would never advise someone use those.
- Maxine, Newcastle UK
Graham - you're an idiot.
Lloyd - good advice. Nobody would leave their car unlocked so why leave a bike unlocked (or undersecured). Get a decent shackle lock and a cable and lock the whole lot (including your QR front wheel Isabel!) to something solid.
Even better get a datatag plus locks that include insurance. Then if the worse does happen you've got a fighting chance of either getting it back or getting a replacement.
- Rob, Herts
Graham, I think if you compare the number of injuries caused by "lycra warriors" against those caused by car drivers the figures will speak for themselves.
Personally I don't condone theft and I wish the police would come down harder on the people that steal bikes.
- Karen, London
I must say, having to take the front wheel off and cart it about is what puts me off cycling in the first place. Hardly ideal if you want to go shopping, catch a train etc. They should make lockable cycle huts where you pay to rent space and a key - a bit like the supermarkets do if you've done your shopping and want to go to the cafe. I suppose it's too expensive and space inefficient.
- Isabel, Woking, England
So, Graham, if you cut me up on the road, carelessly open a car door on me, whistle past me with millimetres to spare, or kill someone (on a bike) I happen to love, then it is OK for me to to steal your car. What a horrible world you seek to inhabit! I never condone bad cycling but I don't condone bad driving either - it kills and badly injures over 3000 peple a year nationally. As for registration plates, a better scheme for recovery of stolen cycles is datatag (or similar). I fully endorse and follow Lloyd's advice but I have still lost 2 bikes to thieves in the last 15 years. By the way, I speak as a cyclist 60% of the time, a pedestrian 38%, and a car driver 2% of the time
- Richard Irving, london, UK
Graham - get a life. There are probably a lot more crime commited by car drivers.
- Lawrence, London
The simple answer is get a decent lock, a cable lock is hardly likely to act as a deterant, get a decent U lock, get a quick release front wheel, chain it to your back wheel and frame and all 3 to something immoveable. If you don't want to lose it then lock it up properly.
- Lloyd, London
While no theft is acceptable, maybe it is rough justice for some of the crimes that Lycra Warriors commit on a daily basis. These are the same Lycra Warriors who do not want registration plates that would enable the easy identification of stolen bikes.
- Graham, Reading, England
