Bike thefts in Islington have dropped to a decade-low after hitting the highest point during the pandemic.
New data released by Metropolitan Police shows 765 bike thefts were reported in Islington in the last 12 months, dropping 46.8% compared to 2020 – the worst year in the borough’s history with 193 bikes stolen in a single month.
Arthur Gajevskij, a police officer from Bunhill and St Peters & Canalside’s safer neighbourhood team, cited hotspot policing as the main reason for the recent improvement.
Describing a recent operation, PC Gajevskij said: “We had a flat in Grayson house, which was a hotspot for stolen bikes. All the bikes stolen in the Bunhill ward were taken to that flat. So as soon as we got a warrant, we went in and recovered lots of properties.”
Bike thefts in Bunhill and St Peters & Canalside – though still among the highest in Islington – have dropped from 34 in August 2020 to 17 in the last month.
According to PC Gajevskij, free bike marking events were also held in multiple wards in which bicycles were given unique traceable codes to ensure easy identification if missing.
However, Sonia Westbrook, another officer from the two wards’ safer neighbourhood team, warned that bike marking won’t fully deter thefts from happening.
“People think that once their bikes are marked, they won’t be stolen anymore. But this is not the case. The mark just protects the bike if we find it, and then we return it to you,” she said.
PC Westbrook also spoke of the recent rise in electric bike and scooter robberies, which happen “especially on Sunday morning when people go out or come hone from their nights out.”
“I know it sounds awful but your bike is not safe. If you don’t want your bike stolen, don’t leave it outside. Otherwise it can be stolen,” she added.
Despite the decrease, the bike theft level in Islington remains higher than London’s average. Currently, the borough ranks as the ninth worst-affected area of the 32 boroughs compared to the sixth in 2020.
