Thelwall, Grappenhall & Latchford April 2015 | Page 46

Essential Feature Warrington Officers target bike thieves Officers in Warrington have been targeting bike thieves who have been an issue in the area. Between 1 January and 5 March, Cheshire Police received 120 reports of shed burglaries and 70 recorded offences of bicycle theft. Local officers set about rectifying this by targeting suspicious people using bikes in high risk areas. Inspector Richard Spedding, from the Northern Partnerships Unit said: “This operation is in response to ongoing crime patterns that have become apparent in the area. Dedicated resources have been allocated to tackle this issue. We want to make it clear to criminals that if they commit a crime in Warrington, they will be caught. As a result of this Operation we have already made three arrests in two separate incidents and recovered stolen bicycles that have been returned to their owners.” Cheshire Police are reminding people of some simple crime prevention advice to help deter opportunistic criminals: • Store your bicycle securely at home in a garage or shed or bring it inside your property. Lock or chain bicycles together or to something fixed or bulky as this reduces the ability for them to be stolen. • Consider fitting a shed alarm and improve the exterior lighting around your home to deter offenders. 46 • Property mark your bicycle(s) f r a m e s using an ultraviolet pen or other form of property marking, to enable it to be returned to you should it be stolen and recovered. • Always lock the building where the bicy