Last week saw the launch of ‘Operation Spoke’, a police-led initiative aimed at reducing bicycle theft across County Durham & Darlington. As part of Operation Spoke, Durham Constabulary will be working closely with local cycle retailers, BikeRegister and Immobilise.com to introduce a bicycle marking scheme to property mark and register bicycles in the area.
The aim of the scheme is that every new cycle sold will be marked and registered to their new owner. Current bicycle owners can also attend their local cycle retailers, police stations and other cycle marking events to have their cycles marked and registered under the scheme. Operation Spoke offers two marking products. The first is ‘BikeRegister’ which includes four permanent stencil etching marks, unique microdots, a QR code label and a tamper resistant ‘BikeRegister’ warning label. This kit will make it extremely difficult to remove the identity of a cycle and can be purchased at a reduced cost.
Crime Prevention Officer PC David Williamson added, “This really is a fantastic opportunity for anyone wishing to protect their bicycle, a simple yet highly effective method of preventing a bike from being taken and it takes only a few minutes.”
There will also be a free marking and registration product for those not wishing to pay for the ‘BikeRegister’ kit.
All customers who sign up to the scheme will be asked to complete a registration document, details provided will then be put onto a database so that police can check the identity of cycles to identify them and to target bicycle thieves.
The officer launching the initiative, Det Supt Kevin Weir said, “The key benefit of the scheme is that should a bicycle be stolen, it will be easy to identify by police. This means a stolen bike will be easy to return to a rightful owner.
“I am also hopeful the introduction of this scheme will be a deterrent to thieves. The message I want to send out is simple; if you are buying a new bicycle for Christmas this year or indeed into 2014, please register it with your retailer as part of Operation Spoke.
“Our aim is to get as many bikes as possible registered under the scheme, reducing the opportunity for bicycle theft across our force area.”
People are asked to contact their local neighbourhood policing team via 101, call at their nearest police station or cycle retailer for further information about the scheme.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
