Bedfordshire Police have been quick to deny allegations made in a Mail on Sunday article, yesterday (22 September), stating that the force is no longer investigating bike thefts.
The article referred to a ‘secret document’ which outlined the cost-cutting plans.
It reported that Bedfordshire would be the first English force to ‘set out a blanket policy not to try to solve a particular offence…’.
Addressing the inaccuracies, a spokesperson for the force said, “The details weren’t in a ‘leaked document’.
“It was in the Force Management Statement that we proactively publish on our website.
“While the document does show a recommendation that we stop investigating cycle thefts, it was not supported and a different approach was agreed on.
“We don’t have a blanket ban on cycle theft investigation; we have just changed our approach to this type of investigation.”
The change of approach came about in 2018 when the force introduced Priority-Based Budgeting.
“Priority-Based Budgeting is a process to help us align our resources to best deliver our force priorities – which includes crime types such as domestic abuse and knife, gang and gun crime,” continued the spokesperson.
“This is particularly important for Bedfordshire Police as we remain funded as a small rural force, yet have crime challenges usually seen in large metropolitan areas, meaning we have to make difficult decisions on where we place our resources to best protect the public on a daily basis.
“One recommendation of the PBB process was to merge our Community Crime and Serious and Complex Crime Teams to form a new Crime Investigation Team (CIT) to manage all volume crime – this was launched on 2 September.
As part of the introduction of CIT, there was also a change to our approach investigating certain crimes, including cycle theft.
“All reports will still be investigated; however they will be triaged to ensure a focus on key nominals and prolific offenders and to protect our most vulnerable victims.
“This approach means that we are able to have more of a focus on proactive preventative work to tackle the root cause of such offending rather than simply dealing with the consequences.
“As an example, our officers are currently taking part in a multi-agency operation in Bedford aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour and associated criminality.”
There are a number of steps that cyclists can take to reduce the chances of having their bikes stolen:
- Always lock your bike, regardless of where you are and how long you plan to leave it and try and use two different locks to secure your bike.
- Where you can, lock your bike to cycle racks in busy, well-lit areas.
- Lock both wheels and the frame to a bike stand and fill the lock with as much of the bike as possible.
- Although they can be picked, locks do provide a deterrent to thieves. Face the lock to the ground to prevent it from being turned upwards to access.
- Take any items that can be removed with you, such as wheels, lights and pumps.
Advice on how to keep your cycle safe can be found at Bedfordshire Police’s website.
