Police and volunteers in Prince George are continuing to assist bike owners in registering their bicycles on the digital bicycle registration, reporting and recovery network, 529 Garage.
The Prince George RCMP have partnered with 529 Garage in an effort to combat the increasing amount of bike thefts in this community and to return more stolen bikes to their rightful owners.
Since the beginning of April, police and volunteers have registered more than 700 bikes in the community. This is more than all of 2016 and we still have more than two months to go in the riding season. Police have registered nearly 1,400 bikes in total since June 2016. The goal remains to complete 2,000 before winter arrives this year.
Police urge bicycle owners to take the time to attend one of the events to have their bike(s) registered and to help #EndBikeTheft. In addition to regular events, police will be holding registration events during the lunch hour on Thursdays during the month of August at our municipal detachment on Victoria Street.
The Bike Registration Crew will be out at the following locations over the next two weeks:
| Wednesday August 2nd | 5:00 PM | 8:00 PM | Otway Recreational Area (parking lot) |
| Thursday August 3rd | 12:00 PM | 1:00 PM | Prince George RCMP Detachment, 455 Victoria Street |
| Monday August 7th
(BC Day) |
12:00 PM | 4:00 PM | Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park (band shell) |
| Wednesday August 9th | 5:00 PM | 8:00 PM | Pidherny Recreational area (parking lot at the top of Foothills Boulevard) |
| Thursday August 10th | 12:00 PM | 1:00 PM | Prince George RCMP Detachment, 455 Victoria Street |
An updated list of event dates, times and locations is posted on our website at www.princegeorge.rcmp.ca. Click the Bike Theft Prevention Program link.
For each bike registered at one of our events, the owner can enter for a chance to win a Norco Storm mountain bike donated by Cycle World on First Avenue. Draw to be made at the end of the biking season.
The free registration process takes about five minutes and includes essential information such as the ownership details, serial number and photos of the bicycle. In the event of a theft, the information can easily be distributed to other registered riders through an alert feature on the smart phone app. The information can also be easily provided to both the police and insurance companies.
“It has been very exciting to see the public evolve from knowing nothing about this program to where they seek us out to get their bikes registered,” said Cpl. Craig Douglass, the officer leading this initiative. “We want every bike owner in our community to register their bike so that they have added protection in the event their bike is stolen.”
About Project 529
Founded in 2013, Project 529 is a diverse team of software professionals that believes that technology can enhance the cycling experience. Their first product, the 529 Garage is a bicycle registration, reporting and recovery network focused on their 10 year vision to reduce the impact of the bike theft epidemic in North America by 50 per cent.
