Bike thefts plummet as neighbourhood police target hotspot areas

Bike thefts have fallen by 77% in a Nottingham district following a determined effort by neighbourhood officers to tackle the issue.

Increased patrols, multiple arrests and bike marking events (pictured above) have contributed to the sharp fall in the City Central area, which covers Radford, Hyson Green, Arboretum, Berridge, Dunkirk, Lenton and Wollaton East.

Latest figures show there were just six bicycle thefts reported in the district in December 2024 – down from 26 the previous month.

Sergeant Matt Leask, of the City Central neighbourhood team, said a combination of factors had led to the sharp decline. He said:

“The fall in reports has been really pleasing and shows the work we’ve been doing has been effective.

“In November, the number of bicycle thefts was averaging out at almost one a day. By the end of December, we had managed to reduce that figure to nearly one a week.

“Such a dramatic fall is rarely down to one factor and in this instance it will be down to a number of proactive measures that we’ve been undertaking to tackle this issue.

“Firstly, some good work by the University Policing Team led to the arrest of three individuals following a series of thefts on university campuses.

“Secondly, we increased visibility patrols in hotspot areas such as Queen’s Medical Centre and that will have deterred thieves.

“And thirdly, we’ve continued to carry out free bike marking events which is another really effective way of preventing bike thefts, as it makes your bike harder to sell on and therefore much less attractive to thieves.”

The arrests included Dean Hudson, who was given a community order after pleading guilty to two bike thefts on the University of Nottingham’s University Park campus. The 43-year-old, of Wyton Close, Bestwood, was identified by CCTV footage and tracked down by officers.

A second man, from Long Eaton, was arrested and charged with four bike thefts, including two from University of Nottingham campuses. The 31-year-old is due to face trial at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court in March. 

Meanwhile, an 18-year-old man was recently arrested on suspicion of three bike thefts and one e-scooter theft. He has been bailed with conditions pending further investigation work.

In addition to this arrests, bike-marking events were held throughout 2024, including at the University of Nottingham’s University Park campus and Queen’s Medical Centre.

Staff and students were able to have their bicycles marked for free and then registered with the national BikeRegister database.

Two tamper-proof stickers are attached to a bicycle’s frame, and the make, model and a photograph of the bike are recorded along with the details of the registered keeper, which are uploaded to the database.

BikeRegister is recognised as the National Cycle Database and is used by all UK police forces to search for stolen and recovered bicycles.

Sergeant Leask encouraged cyclists to get their bikes marked and registered if they haven’t done so already. He said:

“Research indicates that cyclists are up to 83 per cent less likely to have their bike targeted and stolen if it is visibly BikeRegister marked, so I’d really encourage owners to get their bike marked and registered.

“The anti-tamper stickers act as a deterrent and make it easier for the police to reunite cyclists with their bikes should they be stolen by matching a QR code on a bicycle with information from the database.

“Thieves will not hesitate to specifically target bikes with poor security and therefore it is also important that cyclists use a high-quality and suitable bicycle lock when leaving their bike unattended.”

Nottinghamshire Police recommends a D-lock as the best method to deter potential thieves.

More advice, including details about BikeRegister, can be found here: Protect your bike from theft | Nottinghamshire Police.