If you care about your bicycle, invest in the best lock possible, police say - Action News
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Kitchener-Waterloo

If you care about your bicycle, invest in the best lock possible, police say

Guelph Police are warning residents to invest in a good bike lock after the force had 424 reports of stolen bicycles in 2016, and recovered another 306 that were never reported stolen.

'Its simply not enough just to lock your bike up'

Spring may mean you're considering getting your bicycle out of storage, but police say if you've invested good money in your ride, you should also invest in a good lock. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Spring is on the way, which means you may be thinking of getting your bicycle out of storage if you're a fairweather cyclist.

But you may also be concerned about keeping your investment safe.

Const. Bryan 'Buzz' Dean of the Guelph Police said last year, 424 bikes were stolen in the city.

"We also recovered another 306 that were found, but not reported stolen," Dean said.

He said there appears to be a connection between street level crime and drug-related crimes.

Last year, police set up a bait bike locked with a routine lock. On two separate operations, police arrested two people each time and found during the investigation, the people were involved in the drug subculture.

"Unfortunately, bikes have become a bit of a commodity, traded, stripped down," Dean said.

When police have done raids that resulted in recovering bicycles, it's not just a few bicycles it's dozens.

"They're getting stripped down for their parts, taken apart, shuffled around," Dean said. "The bike itself does not keep its original condition usually very long before it's altered somehow."
Police collected a number of bicycles, bicycle parts, electronics, identification documents, replica firearms and drugs from two homes in Guelph in October as part of an investigation called Project Draw. (Guelph Police)

'Spend the money on a proper lock'

What can people do to protect their bikes - especially if they have invested in a good one?

"It's simply not enough just to lock your bike up," Dean said.

He said far too often, he has seen someone who has bought a good bike, but they use a cheap lock that can be easily snipped.

"You need to spend the money on a proper lock," he said.

He noted many locks now will give you a rating for how secure they are and how well they'll protect the bike.

He said if your bike is stolen, report it online on the police's website.

Write down your bicycle's serial number and include that in the report and let police know if you have a video or photos of the theft, or if you happen to find it online on a classifieds website or an online auction.

As well, try to have something that makes your bike clearly identifiable. Dean said one bike returned to its owner last year had a different coloured seat post, which was unique to the bike.