Almost 90% of all bicycle theft cases reported to police over the past year were closed without a suspect even being identified, and just 1.7% resulted in someone being charged, analysis of crime statistics shows.
The Liberal Democrats, who uncovered the data from statistics for England and Wales from July 2021 to June this year, said it was indicative of under-funded police forces being unable to properly investigate such crimes.
The campaign group Cycling UK said that while bike theft was often seen as a minor offence, it carried a significant social impact, often putting people off using bicycles.
Across the 12-month period, in which 74,421 bike thefts were reported to police, no suspect was identified in 66,769 of the cases and only 1,239 resulted in a charge or summons.
The data also showed significant regional variations between police forces. The worst-performing area was Sussex, where no suspect was identified in 96.1% of reported thefts, followed by the Metropolitan police area (94.8%), Hampshire (94.2%), Surrey (91.5%) and Cambridgeshire (91%).
The areas that performed best tended to have relatively few bike thefts. The four forces with the lowest proportions of cases closed with no suspects – Dyfed-Powys, Cumbria, Durham and Gwent – each had fewer than 300 reported over the period.
Alistair Carmichael, the Lib Dems’ home affairs spokesperson, who led the analysis, said it was “shocking that if your bike gets stolen, there’s very little chance of ever seeing the thief caught and punished”.
He said: “Local police forces are overstretched and underfunded. They simply cannot do their jobs properly without the funding and officers needed to investigate crimes like this properly. The Conservatives talk tough on crime, but they cannot even get the basics right and are set to miss their own pledge to recruit 20,000 extra police officers by next March.”
Keir Gallagher, a campaigns manager at Cycling UK, said: “Bike theft is sometimes perceived as a petty crime, but it carries a huge social impact, putting many people off cycling altogether. Local authorities, workplaces and businesses can do more to ensure everyone has access to secure cycle storage, but until criminals believe there is a genuine risk of being caught, this scourge will sadly continue.
“While we acknowledge the limitations on police resources, with more than half of stolen bikes being sold online, there is clearly scope for improved targeting of online marketplaces to identify and prosecute serial offenders and organised criminals.”
A Home Office spokesperson said more than 15,000 extra officers had been recruited, with another 5,000 due to be in place by March.
They said: “We understand the distress and disruption bike thefts causes victims. We want offenders charged and brought to justice, therefore we are working with partners across the criminal justice system to increase the number of cases being charged and prosecuted, and to speed up the process.”
