NCJ Number
78971
Date Published
1977
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The Krefeld police program for control of bicycle thefts is described.
Abstract
The program is in part modelled on the experiment conducted in Appleton, Wisconsin, using a list of bike owners to identify bikes found. In 1973, the Krefeld police assigned two officers the task of checking high-risk bike theft areas. As a result of their efforts, thefts had dropped 11 percent by 1974 and clearance rates were up from 8 percent to 23.87 percent. Although the figures of the following years were not as favorable, the bike theft rate has remained well below the State average. The next control step involved registration of bike frame numbers and issuance of bike owner cards. Not all bikes could be registered because of shortages of police personnel, but new bikes were listed through retail outlets. At present, all stores which sell bikes keep lists of bike numbers and purchaser names; if bikes do not have numbers, seller numbers are etched on. Since 1975 the bike owner list has been computerized. In the period 1974 to 1977 609 offenders have been arrested. The clearance rate in 1976 was 23.52 percent and the number of bike offenses dropped 2.58 percent from the previous year. A number of separate files are maintained to assist in theft investigations: a date file with offense dates, a brand-name file listing the brands of stolen bikes, a file of unclear frame numbers, and a file for stolen bikes with neither a brand name or number. Approaches such as examination of newspaper ads for bicycles cannot be carried out for lack of personnel. From 1978 on, a new telecommunications system should make it possible to obtain specific bike theft data from patrol cars.