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Sheffield cyclists warned to be extra vigilant following spate of bike thefts

S Yorks Police highlight rise in theft of bikes in the city centre during the daytime

South Yorkshire Police are warning Sheffield’s cyclists to be extra-vigilant about securing their bicycles following a spate of bike thefts in the city centre.

On its website, the force says that levels of reported bike theft in Sheffield are generally low, but August and September saw an increase of nine bicycles stolen in the centre of the city, all of them taken during the daytime.

Inspector Alex Murthi from the City Centre Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) said: “Opportunist thieves will not think twice about taking property that is left unattended or insecure."

He continued: “We are urging the public to be vigilant and for cyclists to properly secure their bikes when left unattended.”

“We are working to tackle this issue, with officers from the City Centre SNT increasing both plain clothed and high visibility patrols in key areas to catch and deter any thieves.

“Officers have also been giving out crime prevention advice to the public. We do need the public to help us tackle this issue by following a few simple crime prevention steps given here.”

Among advice police are issuing to cyclists to help thwart thieves are the usual commonsense measures such as using a decent lock (they recommend a D-lock, but a decent, well-rated chain can be just as good, if heavier).

Other recommended security measures include using proper cycle racks rather than lamp posts and the like to secure the bike in a well lit, non-isolated area, having the crossbar stamped with your postcode and registering the bike on the Immobilise database.
 

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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5 comments

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Simon_MacMichael | 13 years ago
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Quite by coincidence, mad_scot_rider, that pic was taken outside Waterloo Station, London SE1 which as we report today is the number-one postcode for bike theft in South London. Bit of a gift for the thieves, that one.

The wheel was still there months after I took the picture, too.

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mad_scot_rider | 13 years ago
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Slightly O/T - showed my 16 yr old daughter the pic above and she shouted in indignation about someone spending money on a good U-lock then putting it only through a quick-release front wheel.

In fairness - some people just shouldn't own nice things

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Tribble | 13 years ago
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adampark88 wrote:

When my girlfriend recently phoned South Yorks police to report the theft her bike, the reply she got was outrageous: "you can't do anything to stop a thief that really wants your bike so you're better off not cycling!".

>_<

That almost deserves reporting to the IPCC.

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adampark88 | 13 years ago
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When my girlfriend recently phoned South Yorks police to report the theft her bike, the reply she got was outrageous: "you can't do anything to stop a thief that really wants your bike so you're better off not cycling!".

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G-bitch | 13 years ago
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Thieving for the new student intake - it's probably happening all over the UK in the student towns. I know we have to be vigilant during the autumn term here in Bristol!

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