LibDem leader Ed Davey claims the Met Police fails to solve 9/10 bike theft cases – but one man did it all by himself.
Giuseppe Tomasi, from Brent in north west London, did everything he could to make sure that if his bike was ever taken, it could be returned to him through the right routes.
But disaster struck in the early hours of September 22 when a thief managed to break into Giuseppe’s block and the bike shed to take his picking.
He told Metro: ‘I locked my bike in my secure block’s bike shed and registered the frame number on a police database. But it still wasn’t enough to stop it from being stolen and properly recovered.’
Today, Mr Davey says bike thefts in the capital have become ‘decriminalised’ and has called for a dedicated unit to deter thieves.
‘It took them just hours to close my case’
Giuseppe’s case is common.Neighbours spotted the thief cutting through the locks and shouted at him to stop.
But the suspect shrugged it off and continued with taking the bike, which is worth around £220.
‘These people know nothing can be done to stop them,’ Giuseppe said.
The dad reported the theft to police but claims the case was closed in just a few hours.
He said: ‘They either don’t have the resources or they don’t have the drive, but I did everything right, sent all the proof and even had a witness.’
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Leaving Giuseppe nowhere to turn, he set up alerts across second-hand websites to try and find his bike.
Sure enough, a week later, it came up on Facebook Marketplace.
He said: ‘I knew straight away it was mine. You couldn’t see the frame number in the image but the signs were there.’
Markings where his lights and child seat used to be were visible, as well as a different front wheel after the old one was left behind in the burglary.
Despite Giuseppe’s thrill at being able to find it, police said he needed to wait five days for them to retrieve it.
‘But it would have been sold by then,’ he said. ‘So I told them I was going to get it myself, and while they said they couldn’t encourage it, they didn’t stop me.’
‘I was terrified confronting the thief’
Giuseppe arranged to meet the ‘seller’ and spent the rest of the day wrecked with nerves.
‘I was assuming he would be some hardened, butch criminal with scars on his face,’ he said.
But instead, it was boy half his age and half his size.
Despite showing the seller, who could not have been older than 21, proof it was his bike, Giuseppe was told he needed to pay £180.
He said: ‘He was acting like the victim, pretending he was a retailer who was sold bad produce and trying to break even.’
London’s worst boroughs for bike theft
Data from the Metropolitan police has revealed the top 10 worst areas in London for bike theft per 1,000 people.
They are:
- Hackney – 4.8
- Camden – 3.9
- Westminster – 3.9
- Islington – 3.9
- Tower Hamlets – 3.7
- Southwark – 3.5
- Hammersmith and Fulham – 3.5
- Lambeth – 2.6
- Kensington and Chelsea – 2.4
- Richmond – 2.3
The seller said he bought the bike for £80 and needed to make that money back, and in the end Giuseppe paid £70 to have his bike handed back.
‘It still stings when I think about how I had to pay,’ Giuseppe said. ‘But at least I got it back, and I’m happy to advise people on how they can do the same.’
Metro has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
Operation Bike Bait
Mr Davey has called for ‘Operation Bike Bait’ – a dedicated police unit to tackle bike thefts.
Last year just 142 people suspected of stealing bikes were charged or summonsed by police.
This is despite 15,557 cases being reported.
What would Operation Bike Bait look like? The Lib Dems hope the National Crime Agency could set the unit up and work with local police forces.
This could include planting bikes fitted with trackers to catch offenders, and hopefully uncover wider criminal networks.
Mr Davey said: ‘Sadly, bike theft has become effectively decriminalised across London, and I’m shocked to see that fewer than 1 in 10 cases are actually solved.
‘Thousands of victims are being failed, whilst criminals get away without any consequences.
‘The Liberal Democrats are calling for “Operation Bike Bait”, a dedicated unit that can work closely with local forces to tackle this spiralling problem.’
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