Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle bike thefts in (a) London and (b) Havering.

The Crime Survey England and Wales latest findings shows bicycle theft is down 54% in year ending June 2023, compared with year ending March 2010.

In 2020 the Government published Gear Change – a bold vision for cycling and walking. Theme 4 of Gear Change includes various initiatives to reduce cycle theft.

Through National Cycle Crime Group, working with Department for Transport, Cycle Crime Reduction Partnerships have been set up across the country to coordinate regional enforcement activity to disrupt organised cycle theft and raise awareness of better security. Partnerships have been established in in Birmingham, Manchester, Scotland, Oxford, Cambridge, and Wales, with more currently being established in London.

British Transport Police have also launched the ‘double lock it’ campaign with police forces and organisations, providing advice to owners to help better protect their bicycles. Further information on the campaign and bicycle locks can be found here: https://www.btp.police.uk/police-forces/british-transport-police/areas/campaigns/double-lock-it/.