A COMMUNITY leader estimates more than £70,000 worth of bikes are stolen from Chester every year.
Reg Barritt, whose wife has just replaced her fifth stolen bike, sought details on the number of stolen cycles between April 2006 and March 2007 using the Freedom of Information Act.
Mr Barritt, secretary of Handbridge Residents Council, was dismayed that only 28 crimes were detected out of 359 bikes stolen and that only eight individuals were charged or summoned to appear at court.
Among the rest, 16 offences were taken into consideration when offenders were sentenced for other crimes, two were cautioned, one was detected but no action taken and one was given a fixed penalty notice. Nineteen pedal cycles were recovered.
Mr Barritt, of Hartington Street, described the recovery and detection rate as 'very low' and said it was 'even more worrying' the crime did not appear to be taken seriously by police.
'This is an awful condemnation of the policing of people's bicycles in the city, especially as it is recorded that 24% of those who have a cycle stolen never cycle again.'
Mr Barritt estimates the annual cost of reported bike thefts must come to more than £70,000, assuming an average cost per bike of £200, but suspects the real figure is probably double.
'The police will not tell me what strategies they use to monitor or keep safe bikes in Chester and to catch those who steal them. From the stats given I am sure if there are any such procedures in place they are a complete f ailure.
'My wife's most recent stolen bike, a ladies' Trafficmaster was securely locked to the front of Chester Cathedral at 2pm one afternoon on a bike stand and it was gone by 4.30pm.
'How is it there is no surveillance of such locations that can be checked by CCTV to combat such crime?' david.holmes@cheshirenews.co.uk
Post code system to solve crime
Cheshire Constabulary says Chester Inner Neighbourhood Policing Unit (NPU) has mounted various campaigns to reduce cycle theft which has been identified as a 'volume crime' problem.
Chester Crime Prevention Panel has bought an engraving kit which has been given to the Bike Factory in Boughton. Staff
can now engrave the post code of the owner onto bikes they sell making it easier to trace a cycle back to its owner.
Various events encouraging bike marking take place including one tomorrow (Saturday, June 23) at Belgrave Infants School for Westminster Park residents, between 10am and noon.
