Police and volunteers in Prince George will be out registering bicycles at various events throughout the riding season.
The Prince George RCMP continue to partner with the digital bicycle registration, reporting and recovery network, 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.
Last year, Prince George saw a reduction in bike thefts for the first time since 2013. So far this year, bike thefts are up slightly, a trend we want to reverse. From January to the end of June, we have had 71 bike thefts compared to 65 during the same period last year. Of those, 24 or 34% were confirmed to be locked. Traditionally, July and August have the most bike thefts, accounting for 44% of all bike thefts last year.
The RCMP urge bicycle owners to take the time to attend one of our events to have their bike(s) registered and to help #EndBikeTheft. The Bike Registration Crew will be out at the following locations over the next two weeks:
|
Wednesday July 11th |
5:30 PM |
8:30 PM |
Canadian Tire store (parking lot) |
|
Sunday July 15th |
10:00 AM |
12:00 PM |
Pidherney Enduro event, Pidherny Recreational area (parking lot at the top of Foothills Boulevard) |
|
Sunday July 15th |
11:00 AM |
5:00 PM |
Downtown Summerfest, Canada Games Plaza |
|
Sunday July 15th |
6:00 PM |
8:00 PM |
Pidherney Pump Track Challenge, Pidherny Recreational area (parking lot at the top of Foothills Boulevard) |
|
Saturday July 21st |
10:00 AM |
1:00 PM |
Otway Recreational area |
An updated list of event dates, times and locations is posted on the RCMP website at www.princegeorge.rcmp.ca. Click the Bike Theft Prevention Program link.
The free registration process takes about 5 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.
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 Prince George RCMP’s Anti-bike theft project is looking for more volunteers.
“We are working hard to provide the public with more opportunities to register their bikes,” says Cpl. Craig Douglass, the officer leading this initiative. “In order to attend more events and locations, we need more volunteers.”
Volunteers would primarily be responsible for recording essential bike information and taking photos using a smart phone or other device (provided). Training is minimal and not difficult. A basic Police Information Check is required at no cost to the volunteer.
The registration team attends various public locations throughout the community during the riding season, whether part of a bigger event or just somewhere bike riders are likely to be. The events are mainly scheduled for a few hours each during evenings and weekends.
If you are interested in volunteering a few hours a week and are familiar with how to operate a smart phone, please contact Cpl. Craig Douglass.