OPINION - Has bike theft been ‘effectively decriminalised’ in London?

Tourists think it’s all tea at The Ritz or bumping into Hugh Grant and his floppy hair, but for a true London experience, you really need to have your bike stolen. And once seized, there’s precious little chance of getting it back.

In fact, 93 per cent of the 15,899 reported bike thefts in the capital last year were closed by the Metropolitan Police without a suspect being identified, according to figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats.

Now, as someone with no investigative mind – I’ve seen Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap twice and on neither occasion could I have told you who ‘done it’ – I’m always amazed the police catch anyone at all. But bike theft has become so pervasive and visible – you see videos of organised groups with industrial-sized bolt cutters snatching them in broad daylight – that it makes one question the social contract.

Take this one example. Last year, Faisal Islam, the BBC’s Economics Editor, tweeted that his own bike had been nicked. It had an internal tracker and couldn’t be ridden without a code and so he could see it being ferried, presumably by van, from London Bridge to East Ham.

A day after reporting it stolen, Islam was informed by police that they were closing the case, despite the fact that he said the bike was “beaming its location”, and if they identified the vehicle police might have cracked an entire gang operation.

Of course, the Met have to direct resources where they see fit and ruthlessly prioritise. London is a big city with plenty to police. Throw in counter-terrorism to the odd coronation and you can see how the demands start to add up.

But bike theft isn’t a minor offence. Cycles are many people’s main mode of transport, while the crime disproportionally affects households with incomes below £10,000 and people aged 16-34, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In 2019, London’s Police Cycle Task Force was disbanded, with Sadiq Khan stating that he wanted to focus resources on knife and violent crime. This seems fair enough and I don’t know what the answer is or how much of a difference the rollout of safer storage facilities in residential areas, near transport hubs and offices would make.

But if we want more people to cycle, as the Mayor does, both for health and climate reasons, we do need them to be able to keep hold of their bikes.

In the comment pages, Ben Judah says Emmanuel Macron has a plan that gives Brexit Britain a proper place in Europe. Anna van Praagh reveals she wasn’t breastfed as a child and is perfectly clever. And want to buy? You’d be better off downloading Hinge than Rightmove, suggests Prudence Ivey.

Finally, an ode to autocorrect: farewell to a ducking beloved nuisance.

This article appears in our newsletter, West End Final – delivered 4pm daily – bringing you the very best of the paper, from culture and comment to features and sport. Sign up here.