City police partner with bike registry to combat theft

A growing trend of bike theft in Calgary has led to a partnership between the local police and an online bike registration service to aid investigations.

Bike Index is a free online service where owners register their bicycle’s manufacturer, serial number and identifying details into a database.

Since police require a serial number, which can sometimes be unknown to owners, this will make it more easily accessible.

“Bike thefts in Calgary have always been an issue, however we have seen a growing trend of this crime in our city in the last few years and we wanted to see what we could do to address the issue and better support victims,” said Const. Brennan Vanderwater in a news release.

“We hope that by partnering with Bike Index we will be able to return more recovered bikes back to Calgarians.”

Approximately 2,900 bikes were reported stolen between 2015 and 2018 in Calgary, said police, and only 12 per cent of those were recovered.

The service launched a pilot program using Bike Index in May and Vanderwater said they saw successes “almost immediately.” That month, police recovered $12,000 worth of bikes.

However, he said the index service doesn’t replace the need for residents to report stolen property to authorities.

It is recommended Calgarians register their bike on Bike Index and then pick up associated stickers to connect their bike to a registered user account.

Stickers can be found at local police offices and participating bike shops in the city.