By
making a note of your frame number, you could make use of a bike registration
service. Until recently these
types of registration system rarely stopped a thief and were increasingly
falling from favour because, of the 158,000 bikes reported stolen in the UK last year, less than 8
per cent were returned to their owners.
That was until the launch of bikeregister.com, which is registered
with the Association of Chief Police Officers' Property Tracking Group.
Bikeregister.com is more than just a bike registration system; it is
an industry wide approach to cycle security that is supported by independent
cycle retailers, the Consortium of Bicycle Retailers, bike manufacturers and
the British police force. The
primary objective of the system is to help reduce bike crime and effectively
enable the return of stolen bikes to their rightful owners.
Its’ secondary objective is to bring a degree of certainty
to buying and selling second hand bikes.
These objectives are achieved through the use of a state-of-the-art
bike ID system and on-line recovery register.
Why
should I join a cycle registration system?
Bicycles
are a valuable investment that, with costs ranging between £150 and £4,000,
are important to secure and protect.
Whilst bike locks are a deterrent to thieves, they by no means guarantee
total security and certainly offer little hope of return in the event of recovery
by the police.
However registering your bike enables Police who
recover stolen bikes to easily trace owners and notify them of its recovery.
Every Police
Force
has access to the on-line database via web-enabled workstations.
Owners who register their bike can enjoy lifetime
protection and increasingly potential buyers of second hand bikes are assured
total peace of mind that the bike they are buying isn’t stolen.
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