BICYCLE THEFT IN Ireland has doubled since the introduction of the Bike to Work scheme in 2009.
Almost 4,500 bicycles were reported stolen in Dublin in 2013, and figures for the first six months of this year show that 2,639 have been reported stolen to gardaí.
Vintage bike
A historical 1950′s vintage bicycle that was stolen outside a clothes shop in Ranelagh last Friday evening is just one example of the spate of bicycle thefts taking place across the city.
Bow and Pearl Boutique have had the vintage bike outside their shop every day for the last three years, often with flowers in the basket.
Writing on their Facebook page about the theft, they said the bike is “part of our boutique for the last three years. It is a beautiful display piece that we take pride in putting outside our door every day for the people of Ranelagh to enjoy (visually!)”.
However, last Friday two women walked off with the bike and it hasn’t been seen since. The shop says they reported the theft to gardaí, adding that a lot of people have been getting in touch to say what a shame it is, but there has been no developments as to where the bike is.
The shop have released CCTV footage of the theft which shows the women hanging around outside the shop for a short period. One of the women then takes hold of the handle bars and walks off with the bike. The shop wrote on Facebook:
Have you seen these ladies riding our bike around Dublin??? If so can you please ask them to return our bike ASAP to Bow & Pearl or Ranelagh Cycles…
Chairperson of the Dublin Cycling Campaign, Keith Byrne, has called for a co-ordinated plan to combat bike theft.
“Bike theft is a low-risk, high-reward crime. If cars were being stolen at this rate there would be uproar,” he said, adding that the fear of having your bicycle stolen could be deterring people from buying a bike.
“We need a co-ordinated multi-agency plan to tackle bicycle theft if we are to reach the Government target of 10% of journeys by bicycle by 2020” he said.
Dublin Cycling Campaign are carrying out a survey on bike theft and bike parking. To take part in the survey click here.
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