Local police reporting an increase in bicycle thefts

Tori Sutton
Staff Reporter
When Stratford Police warn the public that anyone can be a victim of bicycle theft, there is a good reason to listen.

Just ask Insp. Sam Theocharis whose teenage son had his bike stolen off a friend’s front lawn last summer.

“He was in the house probably no more than 10 minutes,” said the Stratford police inspector. “It was probably an $800 bike. We had the serial number but it was nowhere to be found, no frame, nothing.”

And that’s too often the case. Though police receive dozens of reports each year of stolen bicycles, very few are ever found.

Surely that doesn’t make the victims of a recent boom in bike thefts sleep better at night.

Stratford Police are warning the public of a rash of brazen thefts, where bicycles have been stolen from  garages and sheds. They suspect thieves could be following the owners of expensive bicycles home so they can go back and steal them at a later date.

“We’ve had numerous reports of bicycles being stolen out of open garages while the occupants are in the house, during the day. It makes you wonder.”

There’s been plenty of media attention about stolen bicycles over the last few weeks after Toronto

Police cracked one of the biggest bike theft rings in the city, recovering 3,000 bicycles and seizing drugs.

It was all too familiar to Stratford Police, who uncovered a smaller, but similar, operation in the spring where stolen bikes were being stripped and the parts sold.

While bike thefts are nothing new – locally, it is estimated 500 were stolen between April and August of last year – the easiest way of preventing such thefts isn’t new either.

The No. 1 way to prevent your bicycle from being stolen? Lock it up. Theocharis warns stepping into a store for a few minutes is ample time for a thief to walk away with your ride. Often bicycles are recovered with an unused lock wrapped around its frame.

Still, that doesn’t faze some cyclists. Earlier this week Andrew McKenzie left his bike unlocked in front of Sinclair Pharmacy while he was picking up a few things.

“I don’t have a bike that’s very desirable, it’s an ordinary bike,” said McKenzie, who hadn’t heard about the recent string of thefts. “But I lock my bike nine times out of 10.”

Down the street it was a much different story. Lianne Boshart’s one-year-old bike was securely locked in a rack on the sidewalk – something she always does.

“A lot of times if I am away for the weekend, I also lock it in my garage,” she said. “If someone is going to break into my garage and take it, it would be locked. They might hesitate.”

And that’s exactly what police are recommending, suggesting bicycles be locked up at all times, whether they are parked in public or in your own backyard.

However, locking your bike is still not a guarantee.

“No matter what type of device the cyclist puts on their bicycle, if that individual wants the bike bad enough he can defeat it,” said Theocharis.

PHOTO: After a rash of recent bike thefts, Stratford Police are reminding cyclists that the easiest way to deter a thief is to lock your bike somewhere appropriate, such as a bike rack or solid pole. (Tori Sutton)