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news
Metropolitan Police.jpgLondon bike-jackings hit 10 a week, say Metropolitan Police
An average of 10 cyclists in London are being mugged for their bicycles each week, according to the Metropolitan Police, highlighting the growth of what is termed ‘bike-jacking.’
The figures, obtained by BBC News London, show that as many incidents of riders in the capital being intimidated into handing over their bikes were recorded in the last 12 months than in the previous two years.
Police say that many of the 550 incidents involved cyclists attacked on quiet paths at night.
Here at road.cc, we’ve reported on several such incidents in recent months, including one in which the would-be thieves didn’t get away with the bike after they were chased down by other cyclists.
One of the riders who thwarted that theft – and posted footage to YouTube – was Alex Sweeting.
He told the BBC: "It is concerning - whether you're locking your bike up, cycling along or waiting at traffic lights, you've always got this fear you could have your bike stolen and all because a bike is a quick sell."
Chief Inspector Mike West of the Metropolitan Police commented: "We scan every day for crimes of note and if we pick up on any trends or analysis which would lead us to a hot spot area to deal with crime then that's what we'll do.
"We'll match our resources to where the problems are and you'll generally see an increased uniformed presence."
In March, the founder of a charity that aims to teach young people skills to help them avoid becoming victims of street crime said that older children were stealing bikes from younger ones, sometimes as part of gang initiation.
Nathaniel Peat, who set up the charity The Safety Box, said: “Often the way [cyclists] dress suggests they might have money which means the bike they’re riding is valuable.
"They wear high-end brands. The kids can tell somebody that’s picked up a top from Primark apart from Zara,” Mr Peat said.
“A lot of young people in affluent areas wear jumpers. In the community [lower socio-economic areas], they’re wearing hoodies.
"Young people can see the difference and can read somebody from the way they dress or the bike that they’re riding.”
Last month, Gary Munk of the Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign criticised the police response to a string of bike jackings on the Walthamstow Marshes.
He said: “The odd extra patrol on the marshes is something they should be doing anyway,” he said.
"The police's approach locally to crime against cyclists is shockingly poor and needs to change.
“One reason why so few people cycle is due to fear of the roads.
"Gangs of muggers being allowed to operate for weeks on end in isolated spots with barely any police response adds to that fear.
“Forcing people on bikes to choose between dodging lorries on Blackhorse Road and muggers on Coppermill Lane is hardly a fun choice at all."
In February, 15-year-old Alan Cartwright died after he was stabbed while cycling along Caledonian Road in Islington, north London.
Both his friends had their bicycles stolen following the attack.
An 18-year-old man has been charged with his murder and with conspiracy to rob.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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18 comments
A friend of mine had a knife pulled on him in an attempted bike-jacking. I realise its rare when compared to the number of cycle journeys in the city every day but it does make you think twice if you're likely to be getting around outside of peak hours. I've felt pretty vulnerable myself on a couple of occasions, especially when a bit lost on quiet side streets.
I've long felt that quiet paths away from major routes are a potential magnet for criminal behaviour. I'd much rather see quality segregation along major routes.
I go to work very early or ride home very late. My commute takes me straight through East London. It can be quite worrying if you see a group of people. My scariest moment was having a puncture by Mile End station the day before New Years Eve. This bloke who was pretty much a double of Dappy, started trying to make conversation. I'm pretty sure he was just in high spirits and bored and generally a bit curious as to why people cycle when they could use a car, but it's the fastest I've ever changed a puncture!!
Isn't Gary Monk a slang term?
So you're not even a real monk?
1. Any chance of getting my name right Road.CC. I've been Simon Monk. And now I'm Gary Munk. FFS - can't even cut-n-paste properly.
2. As Brooess suggests, this is someone whipping up a bit of unnecessary fear. Bikejacking is very rare.
3. The answer to the problem of course is:
i) Where there are quiet, isolated routes find out why they're quiet and isolated. If enough riders are using a route, it's no longer quiet or isolated. De Beauvoir used to be an issue, as did London Fields, and the Greenway. None are now - cos there's so many riders using them. If someone tried to jack you for a bike in those patches, there'd be 50 cyclists on top of them in seconds.
ii) For police to take road crime seriously. That, after all, was the point of my comment - that people shouldn't be forced to choose an unlit, isolated, overgrown patch of the marshes that narrows right down against Lea Bridge Road. And that the police should be following up not just these kind of events, but designing them out with councils and taking road collisions and aggression - a far bigger issue - seriously. The police in Waltham Forest - which is all I was commenting about really, trying to get them to up their game (my quotes have been lifted from the Waltham Forest Guardian) - only put out plainclothes and extra patrol after five muggings in one week.
Cheers,
Simon Munk
nunchucks - backpocket!
Your bibshorts are probably too tight.
Brilliant!
If anyone tried to take my bike whilst I was on or near it, they'd get a heavy D-lock on their head.
I know a few years about there were several reports of bike jacking in the de beauvoir area late at night. Friends have reported attempts in Battersea park later in the evening.
I avoid some areas which are nice traffic-free routes at peaks hours, but can be very quiet later in the evening. It's a shame when you feel you have to stick to the roads later in the day.
And of course De Beauvoir Town is part of an amazingly quiet backroads route from the Velopark to town, but I don't think I'll be riding my TT bike through it.
I can see why the Police have put this story out - to help people be aware but having ridden in London for nearly 10 years I've heard only once about this happening, and never even felt at risk. 10 a week is nothing compared to the 1'000s of people riding.
You need to use commonsense, though. Keep to main roads and get a cheap bike for day to day use. Don't make yourself a target.
Mind you the infrastructure doesn't help e.g. the cycle paths through Elephant & Castle would be ideal for muggers - once they've seen you, you'd be trapped... but this is where commonsense comes in - if the roundabout is too dangerous and the path means there's a risk of being mugged, just find an alternative route...
Oh, yeah That's where we're going wrong. We should all be riding cheap bikes and making sure we avoid anywhere "not nice".
Do you also recommend women wear suitably modest clothing and only go out with a male relative to avoid the threat of rape?
FFS, the solution is not to hide away.
We should be coming down on the scrotes doing this like a ton of bricks not blaming the victims.
You can be sure as shit that if this was a rash of motorists being dragged out of their cars, plod would have done a damned sight more than issue a warning.
I think you've missed my point. I'm very anti victim-blaming and I'm not saying that cyclists are at fault here - my own commuter isn't exactly a knackered old bag of spanners!
But... if there's a risk of getting mugged for my bike there are certain steps I'll take and places I won't ride. This to me seems like common sense - taking a few basic steps to avoid getting thumped and losing my bike is about reducing my exposure to a known risk - same as riding more slowly when I'm in a crowd of commuters...
My view is that the Met have put this story out precisely to get people to think a little bit - 10 muggings is not at all significant in terms of the numbers of people riding in London - they've released the story to get people to know it's a possibility and to think about how they can manage that risk for themselves - which seems sensible to me.
The hot spots are mostly in North London, and they're targeting the quiet routes away from the main roads. The problem, is that TfL are right in the middle of planning the Quietway network and some of those routes are where there's been a problem.
The perception of danger is what keeps the majority away from cycling, and the Quietways won't do what they're intended to do if they just represent a different risk.
I believe there was also a sharp rise in car jackings in the 90's when things such as immobilizers became standard. I think very few of the decent bikes that head into the city are left locked up on the streets, they're all in office basements.
Oh, and title fix, day=week.
Oops thanks for flagging, it is appreciated
Opportunistic theft always takes the path of least resistance for greatest reward - much of this rise will be down to iPhone Activation Lock which makes them worthless to steal. As a result there's been a huge drop in iPhone theft over the last two years. Next step will be Apple Watch thefts as they're not as secure as the iPhones and as easy to steal as any expensive watch.