Halifax police warn bike owners to be vigilant after recent surge in thefts

Halifax Regional Police are warning bicycle owners to be extra vigilant as they're seeing a rise in thefts.

The number of stolen bikes reported to Halifax police doubled from 2023 to 2024, increasing from 140 to 275 in the first 10 months of last year, according to Halifax police data that CBC News obtained from a freedom of information request. 

"I'm not all that surprised," said Mike Sime, who said he came home last November to find his bike was gone.

"It was a disappointing thing. That bike had a lot of good years left in it, for sure."

'Crime of opportunity'

Halifax police say there are likely several reasons behind the increase, including population growth.

The number of bikes reported stolen last year is more than the two previous years combined, but the figures are not unprecedented.  

Police have also made several recoveries of dozens of stolen bikes since last summer. In January, Halifax police said they found 40 stolen bikes at a site on Barrington Street. 

"Bicycle theft is a crime of opportunity. So again, there are a lot more bikes and a lot more opportunity to steal those bikes," said Const. Martin Cromwell. 

Cromwell said he couldn't say how many bikes that were found in these mass recoveries had been previously reported stolen but that they were recovered through unrelated investigations. 

Bike owners should not only take precautions to avoid their bike being stolen but be proactive to help make finding it easier if it is stolen such as registering it online, Cromwell said.

Online registry and recovery network

Bike owners can register their bikes with digital services like Project 529, which aims to reduce bike theft and make it easier to find stolen bikes.

If someone has their bike stolen, they can report it through the online registry. It sends out an alert to users and collaborating agencies within a certain radius. 

"Instead of just two police officers looking for your bicycle, you've got this whole social network just working together to fix this problem," said Rob Brunt, the project's chief outreach officer. 

Brunt said police departments and bike shops need to sign up in order to receive the alerts and many in the country have done so. 

Several cities in Canada such as Vancouver, London, Ont., and Winnipeg have partnered with the project in an effort to combat bike theft in their communities. 

After it was launched in Vancouver in 2018, bike thefts went down by 30 per cent, city police said at the time.

Halifax Regional Municipality and Halifax Regional Police are not officially collaborating with Project 529. 

Cromwell said police encourage bike owners to use the registry but they do not receive alerts from it when a bike is reported stolen. 

For Sime, he's taken precautions to avoid losing another bike. He encourages other cyclists to do the same. 

"Stay vigilant," he said.