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Transport for London

Avoiding theft

Don't be a loser! In Greater London about 80,000 bicycles were stolen last year and fewer than 5 per cent of these were returned to their owners. Follow the golden rules below to reduce the risk of theft and increase the chances of recovering your bike if it's stolen. 

  1. To protect it, register it*:
    Register your bicycle model, make and frame number at http://www.immobilise.com/. Without this information the police don't stand a chance of recovering your bike if it's stolen. The Immobilise National Property Register already holds the details of thousands of bikes. Add your details now to help make your bike safer and reduce bicycle crime. Download flyer for more information.
  2. Buy a decent lock - or preferably two*
    Check the London Cycling Campaign website for types of lock and http://www.soldsecure.com/ for certified locks. Expect to pay £40+ or 20 per cent of the value of your cycle on a lock.
  3. Get insurance*
    An easy way to do this is to extend your home contents insurance to cover your bicycle - but make sure it covers you for thefts outside the home too. If your bicycle is particularly valuable you may need to insure it separately. See http://bikeforall.net/ for recommended insurers.
  4. Lock it or lose it
    To minimise the risk of theft on a day-to-day basis, consider the following tips when locking your bike:
    • If you leave your bike in a public space, make sure it is left somewhere where everyone can see it - people will also see if someone is trying to steal it.
    • Make sure the lock catches the bike frame as well as the wheel and the post. If it only goes through the wheel a thief may steal the bike and leave the wheel behind. Lock both wheels in this way.
    • Use a bike stand if there is one available. Grills and gates can be cut with bolt cutters and if you lock up to a short post, determined thieves may unbolt the sign and lift the bike up and off the post.
    • Don't leave your bike in the same place every day. It will be noticed.
    • Locks can also be picked, so face the lock to the ground (but not resting on it) so it can't easily be turned upwards for picking.
    • Make it impossible for a thief to smash the lock open: Fill the D part of a lock with as much of the bike as possible and never leave the lock lying on the pavement - a lock can be sledgehammered easily when it's resting on the ground.
    • Take with you any items that can be removed without tools - wheels, lights, pump, computer, panniers, seat post and saddle. These can go even if you leave your bike for just a few minutes.

* Do this at the point of purchasing your bike, If you don't do it immediately, you'll never get around to it.

For more advice download:
or visit http://www.bikeforall.net/.

TfL is currently working in partnership with the Greater London Authority, the police and London Cycling Campaign on a programme to tackle bike theft in London. Other London programmes that address cycle theft include.

Parliament Square and Whitehall security zone

There is one area in London where if you park at street level you won't find your bike where you left it - the security zone around Parliament Square and Whitehall. Here you need to take your bike to an underground car park and leave it there. If you don't it will be removed and taken to Charing Cross Police station.

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