Police go on offensive to curb spate of cycle theft

Local Police have gone on the offensive in an effort to curb theft of pedal cycles in Chiswick. Last week, ‘Operation Goldsinny’ saw local officers make four arrests in the space of four days. With the Borough Task Force providing the arrest team a number of ‘bait bikes’ were deployed in Chiswick.

Chiswick’s Safer Neighbourhoods Inspector, David Osborne said, ‘It’s been a really successful week; we have taken out some prolific offenders, recovered various items of stolen property, including a number of bikes, and gathered valuable intelligence. We had some success earlier in the year with the arrest of a cycle handler and have been pushing a number of preventative initiatives but decided that it was time to go on the front foot and try and take out some of the key offenders. This is a tactic that we will continue to use - anyone stealing a bike in Chiswick can expect a knock at the door and a visit from their local police.’

Bicycle theft had been one area of rising crime in the Chiswick area with the Turnham Green ward having one of the worst rates of theft as a result.

The operation has once again highlighted the need for cyclists to secure their bikes with a quality lock (you can check a lock’s rating at www.soldsecure.com), and to register bikes and other valuable property on the www.immobilise.com website.

October 27, 2006