x2 reports. The British Transport Police (BTP) says it will not investigate bike thefts outside stations where the bicycle has been left for more than two hours.
It means most bike thefts will not be investigated and CCTV footage will not be looked at outside a two-hour timeframe.
Commuters leave thousands of cycles on racks outside stations every day, including in specially built bike parks with CCTV. Critics say the BTP policy means those facilities are not secure and theft has effectively been decriminalised.
The BTP said: “The more time our officers spend reviewing CCTV… the less time they have available for patrolling railway stations and trains, investigating crimes which cause the most harm.”
Simon Feldman has had one bike taken already from outside Watford Junction station and an attempt was made recently to steal another.
He informed the BTP, which told him officers would not investigate the theft – which happened while he was on shift in London – as he had left the bike at the station for 10 hours.
“The BTP report came back after I reported it and it said they wouldn’t investigate it. Even though it’s right under a camera. And I found out that if you have left your bike for more than two hours, they won’t investigate it,” he said.
“I was pretty shocked because what it’s doing effectively is decriminalising bike theft and I realised how many people are being affected by this.”
There is now a crime playlist on the channel if you are interested as well. From October 2024+ (previous crimes videos are in the people playlist).
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Bike thefts from outside tuber and train stations won’t now be investigated if you leave them there for more than 2 hours. Cycling has rocketed in London over the past decade and so unfortunately have bike thefts. And sadly, most of the time a stolen bike will never be recovered. Which is why cycling campaigners have been left shocked to learn that instead of tackling that problem, police have said they won’t even bother to investigate a bike theft at tube and train stations if the bikes left there for more than 2 hours. Here’s our transport correspondent, Tom Edwards. Thousands of bikes are left outside stations every day, but there are now concerns about how secure they are as the police won’t investigate thefts where the bike has been left for more than 2 hours. I was pretty shocked because it’s basically decriminalizing bike theft. Simon Feldman has had one bike stolen from here at Watford Junction and an attempt on another. In both cases, the British Transport Police wouldn’t investigate. Lots of people across the country cycle to train station every day and their possessions aren’t being looked after. They’re not safe. Um, hundreds of thousands of pounds are being thrown into secure bike parking and it isn’t secure. And presumably that means these cameras are just a waste of time if they’re not going to investigate a bike that’s been left more than 2 hours. When and truly these cameras, you could put a bag over them and that’ll be exactly the same purpose they serve. Um, the footage is never watched. The footage isn’t monitored. So the cameras don’t do anything and the thieves are so confident now they’ll just take bikes in broad daylight. Police guidance also says personal thefts on trains won’t be investigated unless the passenger can give the exact carriage they were on. Thousands of bikes are stolen from outside stations every year. In this bike park, there are 35 cameras. I know because I’ve counted them. But if police officers aren’t investigating thefts where the bike has been left for over two hours, no one will be looking at the footage. Theft is one of the biggest barriers to cycling and cycling groups say more police action is needed. You almost couldn’t make it up really. Cyclists need all the help they can get from police uh involving bike theft. Most crimes go completely unsolved. I think only 1% of bike thefts are solved. So, we need to see the absolute opposite of police taking this much more seriously, not just leaving it leaving it to their own devices. The British Transport Police says these crimes are unlikely to ever be solved. And the more time officers spend reviewing CCTV, the less time they’re available to patrol the network, investigating crimes which cause the most harm. Simon though like many commuters is now reluctant to leave his bike at train stations. Tom Edwards, BBC London. But first, bike thefts outside railway stations in London will not be investigated if they’ve been locked up for more than 2 hours. There are also claims robberies on trains will only be reported if the victim knows the exact carriage they were on. Helen Keenan is at King’s Cross for us tonight. Helen, it’s not a very reassuring message, is it? Well, what this means is that most bike thefts uh won’t be investigated and that any CCTV that’s outside of that 2-hour time frame won’t be looked at. Now, look, what is this going to mean for London? Well, thousands of commuters use bike racks like you can see around me here at King’s Cross and St. Pancress, and they’re used every day. And the concern is that we’ve heard from commuters is now that they’re worried that they won’t be secure. I think if you locked it up properly, right, then they should try and investigate it. Particularly 2 hours when you’re commuting, you know, so you’d be gone for a day. So I think that’s pretty poor. I’d be mortified if my bike was stolen and the police didn’t do anything about it. That would really really upset me because some people, you know, I get to work. I use this to get to work. You know, I use it, it saves me money on transport and, you know, has less of an impact on the environment. So, you think that they would try and help you. Well, campaigners say that this change in policy from British Transport Police effectively uh decriminalizes these at a time when uh crime is of great concern in the capital. It just sends totally the wrong message. I mean, it’s basically saying to criminals, it’s a free-for-all to steal bikes. Cyclists need all the help they can get from the police. You know, bike theft is a real problem in London. Uh 200 bikes a day are getting stolen. So, this is the last thing we need at the moment. We actually need the police to take bike theft more seriously, not less. Well, British Transport Police have given us a statement. They have said there are some crimes that are unlikely to ever be solved, such as those without a clear estimate of time or location for the incident or if there is a lack of CCTV or witnesses. The more time our officers spend reviewing CCTV footage for these offenses, the less time they have available for patrolling railway stations and trains, investigating crimes which cause the most harm and providing a visible presence. Now, there are also uh claims today that robberies on trains will only be reported if the victim knows the exact carriage that they’re in, which commuters here have told me they are also concerned about.