Camden puts the brakes on bicycle theft

15/05/2008

In a bid to reduce cycle theft and get more people back in the saddle, Camden Council is today launching a new cycle stand which allows cyclists to park their bikes more safely and securely than ever before.

Camden is the first borough in the country to use the stands which have a unique design proven to reduce cycle theft by making cyclists lock their bikes more securely.

Figures published by the Transport Research Laboratory have shown that 17% of cyclists experience bike theft; of these 24% stop cycling and 66% cycle less often.

Cllr James King, Camden's new Executive Member for Community Safety, said:

"Although Camden has seen a 30% drop1 in cycle theft since 2005/6 we’re determined to find ways to tackle bike theft to ensure cycling increases.

"We are working hard on making cycling in the borough both safer and more enjoyable as evidenced through the launch of our Green Transport Strategy2.

“In Camden we are embracing the need for creative thinking in order to design out crime in our borough."

The aptly named CaMden stand is being installed in some of the borough's busiest areas for cyclists, including Kings Cross and Holborn.

After a successful trial in Camden the stands, delivered in partnership with TfL's Cycling Centre of Excellence, are now being rolled out to other London Boroughs.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "The caMden stand is a great example of the type of innovative solution to crime that can be made reality given the right support.

"As Mayor, I am determined to make London safer, and I firmly believe that if we drive out so called minor crime, such as bike theft, then we will be able to get a firm grip on more serious crime.

"In the process we will also make cycling in London more attractive, which will help to improve the environment for all of us."

Adam Thorpe from the Design Against Crime Research Centre, the team behind the stand, explains how it works:

"We spent a year observing how thousands of cyclists parked their bikes and investigating the most secure way of parking to resist common bike theft techniques.

"The CaMden stands are designed to make it easier to lock your bike more securely by locking both wheels and the frame to the stand and more difficult to lock you bike insecurely."

The CaMden bike stands will be launched outside the Town Hall on Thursday 15th May to coincide with the Home Office's launch of the Design Against Crime strategy and 'Anti-Crime Design and Technology Alliance', which aim to promote design as a means for combating crime.

The Alliance will consider how to design against crime in relation to 'hot products' i.e those products most frequently stolen, of which bikes are one.

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