The Locksmith Journal Jul-Aug 2014 - Issue 33 | Page 41

PROUD SPONSORS OF THIS PAGE CYCLESECURITY CYCLE SECURITY ADVICE Cycle owners should be urged to only use a good quality D-lock. A poor quality lock at the lower end of the market can be easily sawn through or bolt cropped in seconds. And they should be advised always to: lock their bicycle to something immovable, an object a bicycle cannot be lifted over and cannot be broke, cut or removed i.e. chain link fencing, grilles, gates or trees - check the object is fastened to the ground. For maximum ‘A poor quality lock at the lower end of the market can be easily sawn through or bolt cropped in seconds’ protection, they should use two locks of different types (a D-lock and robust chain and padlock is ideal), using each lock to catch the wheels, frame and stand. AT HOME As many as half of all bicycles are stolen from the owner’s home – so owners should be advised to lock their bike at home even when it is in a garage, flat or halls of residence. You could also advise them to invest in a ground anchor to be attached securely to a wall or concrete floor. REGISTRATION & POLICE IDENTIFICATION Cycles should be registered on Immobilise but before doing this, owners need to take a photograph and along with this record the frame number and any key details such as make and model. They should also frame with your postcode in two separate locations if possible, one of which should be hidden. Collectively this information stored on the Immobilise account will be crucial in recovering a lost or stolen bicycle. It is important to consider that the frame or other identifiable codes could be removed by a thief and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tagging of the bicycle is highly recommended as its virtually impossible to remove from the bicycle’s frame. Electronic Bike tagging allows bikes with uninterrupted seat tubes to be traced back to owner using the unique ID contained within the electronic tag. The ImmobiTag is embedded into the bike frame and is almost impossible to remove. The unique ImmobiTag ID is then registered on Immobilise together with any frame numbers and warning tag serial numbers to be found on your bicycle. All tags contain a unique serial number that can read via special scanners that the majority of police forces are equipped with to display the owner’s information via the National Mobile Property Register, which provides the police with access to the Immobilise system. Used by all UK police forces to trace the ownership of stolen property, the Immobilise system is a great deterrent to thieves. ImmobiTags are not, however, GPS tracking devices. EMPLOYERS CAN’T IGNORE PEDAL POWER Workplace equipment supplier Slingsby is predicting that large numbers of employers should be making provisions for a surge in cyclists arriving at work every day after the Tour de France’s Grand Départ’s huge success in the UK. Cycling has soared in popularity in recent years and approximately 500,000 people have taken advantage of the Government’s ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme, which enables employees to save money on bikes and related safety accessories by making them completely tax-deductible. As a result, workplaces across all industries already have to accommodate increasing To read more, visit www.locksmithjournal.co.uk numbers of bikes and the Tour de France is encouraging many more people to take up cycling. Slingsby Marketing Director, Lee Wright says: “Cycling is a fast growing sport and Britain’s successes in the Olympics and Tour De France have both had a big impact on the number of bikes on our roads. “In many areas, and especially in towns and cities, a parking space is a major staff perk but nowadays a secure place to store a bike can be just as much of a priority. “Cycling is made even more appealing by rising fuel prices, a significant investment nationally in new cycle networks and the fact it offers lots of health benefits, also good news for employers because it means their people are likely to be more productive.” Lee adds: “The ‘Cycle to Work’ initiative is also continuing to have a positive impact on the numbers of people cycling to work. Since the scheme launched in 1999 we have seen orders for cycle storage equipment continually growing year on year and we have expanded our product range substantially to meet this demand with products now ranging from individual wallmounted racks for individual bikes through to secure compounds that can store large numbers of bikes.” With the ‘Cycle to Work’ initiative, employees effectively hire a bike from their employer by paying monthly instalments that are taken from their salary before tax. The hire agreement usually lasts for between 12 and 18 months and then the employee buys the bike for a percentage of its original cost price. www.cyclescheme.co.uk THE JUL/AUG 2014 ISSUE SPONSORED BY TRADELOCKS 41