Gardaí in Letterkenny are seeking to return a number of stolen bicycles to their rightful owners.
Last year in Donegal, 15 bikes were reported as stolen. Of these, ten were recovered.
So far this year, Gardai have received reports of the thefts of three bicycles.
Two of the bikes are pictured below.
One of the recovered bikes, and helmet, at Letterkenny Garda Station. Is this yours?
Thankfully, all of these have been returned. However, a number of bikes at Letterkenny Garda Station have yet to be claimed and officers are anxious that the rightful owners contact them on 07491 67100.
This beautiful bike has also been recovered by Gardaí.
Meanwhile, An Garda Síochána is reminding the public to take extra precautions in keeping their bicycles safe by locking them in the most secure way possible.
From January 2020 up to 23 April 2021, a total of 6,845 bicycles have been stolen across the country, with An Garda Síochána recovering 2,139 of them. Many cannot be returned to their owners as their serial numbers are not recorded.
Of the bicycles stolen since January 2020, only 1 in every 5 bike owners were able to provide their bicycle frame/serial number when reporting the theft to Gardaí. This causes problems reuniting bicycles with their owners.
An Garda Síochána has the following Crime Prevention advice to help owners protect their bikes from theft:
- Spend 10% to 20% of the value of your bike on two locks.
- Lock your bike tightly to an immovable object.
- Keep the lock off the ground.
- When storing your bike at home in a shed or garage ensure it is locked to an immovable object or another heavy item i.e a lawnmower
- Take a photo of your bike, note the serial number and email it back to yourself or store it on the cloud so you have a record of it forever.
- Lock your bike indoors or in well-lit areas if possible.
An Garda Síochána has a number of recovered bicycles at Garda Stations around the country which have not yet been claimed.
Photos of bicycles which have been recovered but not yet returned to their owners are available by Division below and on An Garda Síochána’s Divisional Facebook Pages along with details for owners to claim their bike.
Crime Prevention Officer in the Galway Garda Division Sergeant Michael Walsh said, “We are appealing to all bicycle owners to ensure they lock their bikes as securely as possible when they are not in use. Anecdotally, more people are cycling since the start of the pandemic and this is to be welcomed. Schemes like cycle to work offer great opportunities to those taking up cycling but it does mean people are investing in more expensive bikes. Therefore, it makes sense to invest in quality locks to prevent bike theft. A good quality lock would involve spending 10% to 20% of the value of the bike on two locks. On average this would amount to €140/€150.
When locking your bike ensure you secure it tightly to an immovable object and keep the lock off of the ground.
This advice also extends to securing your bike at your home. If your bike is stored in a shed or garage ensure it is locked to either an immovable object or another heavy item, such as a lawnmower.
Sergeant Walsh added, “Take a photo of your bike. Note the serial number, which is located on the underside of your bike close to the pedals. Email the photo and serial number to yourself or store it on the cloud, so you will always have a record of it.
“If your bike is stolen, report the theft to Gardaí as soon as you can, and ensure you have your serial number to hand if you have it. If you have had your bicycle stolen, you can now go onto the Garda website www.garda.ie or our Garda divisional Facebook pages to view bicycles that are currently in our property stores”.
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