Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 February 2004
43 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the measures his Department are considering taking to reduce the level of bike theft in Ireland given the increases in this reported crime over the last year. [2163/04]
View answerI have been informed by the Garda authorities that the number of pedal cycle thefts in the provisional statistics for 2003 is 518 which is an increase of 21% over the previous year. A detective superintendent in the Dublin metropolitan region has been appointed to oversee a policing initiative to tackle this increase.
Every opportunity is availed of through school visits, community meetings and crime prevention leaflets to inform the community of the importance of taking basic security measures in relation to bicycles. Garda personnel can provide assistance with the identification marking of bicycles which subsequently assists identification of the owner if the bicycle is stolen.
Every bicycle stolen or recovered is recorded on the PULSE system which is a very effective aid to restoring bicycles to their owners.
