In Rhineland-Palatinate, 6,498 bicycles were reported stolen last year, a third more than in the previous year. In the focus of thieves: high-quality bikes and e-bikes. How can you protect yourself against theft and what to do if the bike was stolen anyway?
While the number of thefts of bicycles fell in 2020 and 2021, the State Criminal Police Office of Rhineland-Palatinate recorded an increase of around 30 percent in 2022. In the event of a theft, you should always report it immediately.
Locks, coding, insurance – what brings what?
To prevent this from happening, the police recommend that cyclists always secure their vehicles well. Best with solid padlocks, chains or folding locks. These cost between 50 and 100 euros. Simple cable locks from the hardware store or supermarket, on the other hand, can be quickly cracked by thieves with bolt cutters.
When it comes to locks, quality counts! Thin cable locks are no obstacle for thieves.
SWR
SWR
Another way to protect your bike is to have a number code stamped into the frame. It cannot simply be ground away and if the wheel is stolen, it can be traced back to its owner if it is found. The General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) regularly offers free coding campaigns.
The bike pass app can also help here. It stores all the data needed to identify a stolen bike. This means that the data can be forwarded quickly to the police or insurance company in an emergency. It can also make sense to insure your bike: with bike insurance as part of your household contents insurance.
When are GPS trackers worth it?
If you ride an expensive e-bike, installing a GPS tracker can make sense. Most reliably indicate where the stolen bike is currently located. Some models also sound an alarm when the bike is moved away from the parking space.
GPS trackers use a lot of electricity and are therefore best suited for e-bikes, where they are charged via the wheel battery. In the test by the SWR magazine “Marktcheck”, trackers that were built into the engine so that they were invisible to thieves were convincing. However, this should definitely be done in a specialist workshop.
What to do if you find the stolen bike yourself thanks to GPS?
According to the ADFC, the advantage of the GPS system is that you can quickly find your bike if a casual thief pushes it two or three blocks away. Gudrun Zühlke from the ADFC advises first securing the bike with its own lock and then calling the police. Under no circumstances should you “steal back” your bike.
With organized gangs, the GPS system doesn’t help much either. Gangs usually take stolen bikes abroad quickly and often dismantle them into individual parts.
2023-08-22 23:05:46
#Bicycle #thefts #rise
