MAccording to a survey from 2022, more than one in three citizens in Germany has been the victim of a bicycle theft at least once. Recently, more than 250,000 such crimes were reported every year. However, many cases go unreported. The actual number of bicycle thefts is therefore probably twice as high.
Investigators are particularly concerned about the number of cases involving e-bikes, which have doubled between 2019 and 2023. Due to this development, the total amount of damage caused by bicycle theft has also doubled. Because the e-bikes are significantly more expensive: While a bike without a motor costs around 500 to 700 euros, the average for e-bikes is around 3,000 euros, explains Dennis Mroz from the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office. In 2023, for the first time, more e-bikes were sold than bikes without a motor. “The topic is hugely relevant for us,” says the police chief commissioner, because the thefts also endanger the goals of the desired mobility transition.
The chance of getting a stolen bike back is slim. The clearance rate in Lower Saxony was recently twelve percent. The LKA there is therefore now increasingly focusing on prevention. On Thursday, the authority launched the “Protect your bike” campaign, which is intended to encourage citizens to provide greater protection for their high-quality bicycles. Chief Police Commissioner Mroz advises not to skimp on securing expensive bikes, especially when purchasing them. The common rule that you should invest around 50 euros in a lock is not enough, says Mroz. Ten percent of the purchase price is more likely to be required.
Thieves often rely on angle grinders with rechargeable batteries
In the foyer of the State Criminal Police Office, the police chief demonstrates with a long bolt cutter how easily a thin lock can be cut. Thieves now often rely on angle grinders with rechargeable batteries, which are loud but more powerful. Mroz therefore suggests a combination of several high-quality and heavy locks. “Mass creates resistance,” says the official, holding up a U-lock that costs more than 100 euros and is particularly resistant to angle grinders. “By the time it’s cut through, the thief has worn out four to five saw blades,” says Mroz. And since thieves usually calculate their effort coolly, this hurdle is too high for them. However, cyclists also have to pay attention to the high quality of the locking cylinders, otherwise the criminals will start there. “Keyword lock picking,” says Mroz.
The LKA also advises, if possible, to park bicycles in busy, illuminated or even video-monitored places and to connect them there to massive objects such as bicycle racks or lamp posts. If this doesn't happen, the thieves often take the bike with them first and later break the locks elsewhere. To do this, the perpetrators raise the locked rear wheel by a few millimeters, for example using a hook on their belt. If the thief seems to be casually pushing the bike next to him and perhaps looking at his cell phone at the same time, he is hardly noticeable, even in a pedestrian zone, says Mroz. The bicycles should also be connected as high up as possible, then perpetrators would not be able to support a bolt cutter on the ground and would require significantly more effort.
Mroz also considers GPS trackers to be “an effective means”. Of course, many perpetrators would know that the small transmitters are often hidden under the bell or under the saddle. “But they don’t know whether there is a transmitter and have to search for a longer time.” The trackers have already given the investigators some success. If several bicycles are stolen in a region within a short period of time, the GPS data can sometimes even provide a movement profile of the perpetrators.
Acquisition crime plays a major role
Mroz can provide little information about the thieves' profile. The police statistics on bicycle thefts are not very meaningful; The LKA officials first had to laboriously collect the data for their campaign. A general distinction is made between individual perpetrators, occasional perpetrators and organized gangs. Purchasing crime among drug addicts seems to play a role in many crimes. “With high-quality bikes, there are often more groups behind them,” reports Mroz. Mroz does not provide any information about the background of these groups. However, it is known that the groups sometimes initially park the stolen bicycles near the crime scene and then later collect them in a van.
The low clearance rate indicates that the police authorities have so far been unable to do much to counter such activities. According to reports, public prosecutors and courts often show little interest in the phenomenon, although hardly any crime is as present in the everyday lives of many citizens as bicycle theft. The Lower Saxony LKA now wants to send a signal that these acts are not viewed as petty crimes.
However, the “Protect your bike” campaign means that citizens protect themselves by purchasing expensive locks. Quite a few have long since taken a different approach and rely on an old carrot in everyday life that is so rickety that no thief is interested in it. Chief Police Commissioner Mroz understands this. The e-bike for excursions and a cheap bike for commuting to the train station – that is also a strategy.
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