It appears bike thefts are becoming an increasingly problematic situation in Prince George.
In recent months, there have been several postings on social media about people who have had their bike stolen, or knew a family member or a friend.
If you're lucky, you might get your bike back thanks to those who recognize the bike and know where it is or are out and spot it. Bikes can be stripped and sold for parts, or kept in one piece and sold or used by someone else. Even with a heavy-duty lock, thieves know how to work around them and make off with your bike.
If you’re wondering how to prevent your bike from being stolen, Prince George RCMP and volunteers from the community are working together to offer registration for riders should a theft happen.
Police are teaming up with the reporting and recovery network 529 Garage again. The company – founded in 2013 – created a bike registration program that provides registration, reporting and recovery. Their 10-year vision is to reduce the impact of bike thefts in North America by 50 per cent.
The process takes roughly five minutes. All you have to do is provide ownership details, the serial number as well as photos of your bike.
In the event a bike is stolen, those registered can have the information they provided distributed to other registered riders with an alert through a smartphone app. This information can also quickly be given to police as well as insurance companies.
Over the next few weeks, the bike registration crew will be at different locations throughout the city on the following dates and times:
Wednesday, Sept. 5 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Hart Drugs/Home Hardware (6707 Dagg Rd.)
Saturday, Sept. 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Otway Recreational Area in the parking lot
Saturday, Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Guerrilla Bike Fest (Quebec and Third)
According to statistics provided by Prince George RCMP, from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31 of 2017, there were a total of 146 reports of stolen bikes which involved 164 bikes in total.
The numbers also showed how few people knew information about their bikes and serial numbers:
Forty-five owners did not know the make and model of their bike(s).
One hundred nine bikes (67 per cent) did not have serial numbers reported.
Purchase value was provided for 73 of those bikes which totalled $78,178.
At least 97 of the bikes were not locked (some of the victims did not indicate if their bikes were locked at all).
Ten of the bikes were locked with easily breakable locks.
Only 31 per cent of bikes were recovered.
Thirteen of the 164 stolen bikes were registered with 529 Garage (8 per cent) and two of those 13 were registered after the thefts occurred.
Seven out of the 13 bikes registered were recovered and returned to their owners.
Registered bikes had a recovery rate 6.75 times higher compared to unregistered bikes.
Of the seven recovered by the 529 Garage app, two owners were not aware that their bikes were even stolen.
One bike was eventually returned to the owner through the app without any police involvement (this bike is not included in the above stats).
Hopefully, your bike is never stolen, but here is your chance to make sure it is easier to recover if registered.
