THERE have been approximately 19,000 fewer incidents of bicycle theft reported to the police in the past 12 months compared to the year before, according to UK CrimeStats.
The figures show that from July 2018 to June 2019 there were more than 90,000 reported incidents, but from July 2019 to June 2020 this had dropped to 71,000 bicycle thefts – a 21 per cent fall.
The figures, using data gathered by the Economic Policy Centre, show that despite a rise to 6,870 reported thefts in June, up from 5,700 in May, the long-term trend has been falling.
This is against a backdrop of an increase in cycling across the West Midlands due to the pandemic lockdown.
In fact lockdown saw the lowest figure – 4,046 in April – for the past two years.
December had almost exactly the same figure – 4,047.
The research presented by UK CrimeStats – a leading crime data research and analysis platform – covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is based on reported bicycle thefts.
Responding to the data, Greg Wilson, founder of Quotezone.co.uk – which offers a price comparison service for bicycle insurance – said: “It’s really positive to see such a significant drop in the number of bike thefts, especially when bike sales have spiked due to the pandemic and the subsequent push for people to get fit and lose weight – at a social distance.
“Hopefully this latest trend marks a continued decline in petty crimes with lockdown teaching us a renewed sense of community spirit and fuelling the revival of local support networks such as neighbourhood watch.”
