Data from the Home Office shows that over 94% of bicycle theft cases in London were unsolved by the Met in 2021, the second worst record of any police service in the country. Given the importance of encouraging active travel and making London a welcoming place for cyclists, how are you working with the Met, TfL and others to tackle this issue?

Both the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and I recognise the harm that bicycle theft causes, and we take this issue very seriously.

In order to tackle bicycle theft the MPS has extended its MetTrace programme from a focus on burglary, to include bicycle theft.  Local neighbourhood teams work with communities, providing advice including encouraging property marking.

MPS Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs), as subject matter experts, are also providing advice on cycle security and locking standards and have produced advice for use in local and London wide crime prevention campaigns. DOCOs are implementing Safer Parking principles in their work with Transport for London (TFL) to improve sustainability across the transport network. They support my “Vision Zero” initiative which aims to provide a secure transport infrastructure, improved lighting and safety on roads and cycle paths together with increasing secure storage facilities for bicycles and mopeds.

The MPS also provide practical advice on their website about protecting bicycles including urging anyone who owns a bicycle to get it registered at BikeRegister or Immobilise. This helps officers return stolen property to its rightful owner, and it also helps to bring prosecutions.