Only one in 50 bike thefts result in a charge, shocking figures reveal
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a new approach to clamping down on stolen bikes.
Over 50,000 bike thefts went unsolved last year, according to shocking new Home Office data shared with LBC.
Listen to this article
Figures compiled by the Liberal Democrats also revealed that only 1 in 50 cases resulted in a person being charged.
The party’s home affairs spokesperson, Max Wilkinson, told LBC the figures, which cover incidents up to April 2025, show that bike theft is effectively “decriminalised”.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a new approach to clamping down on stolen bikes.
“We need an ‘Operation Bike Bait’,” Mr Wilkinson argued.
“You'd put a bike with a tracker on it outside a place where you knew that bikes were being nicked from, and then the police could use that to track down the bike after it was stolen and then find out who was doing it - whether it's a gang or whether it's an individual.
“This is a crime that is very serious and it's going largely unsolved in this country. We need to take it much more seriously, because if you're a victim of bike theft, you are a victim of crime.”
Read more: Huge surge in bike crashes after Tube strikes clog up London's roads
Read more: How I saw police smash Britain's biggest phone theft gang
No police force across England and Wales was able to solve more than 55% of cases of stolen bikes intheir patch.
Three - the British Transport Police, Metropolitan Police and Sussex Police - conceded that over 90% of reports were unresolved.
The British Transport Police, which had the most unsolved cases of any force, has been criticised for its approach.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that its officers have been instructed not to investigate thefts unless the bicycle had been left at the station for less than two hours.
The force argued that its officers were spending too much time reviewing footage.
Meanwhile, a Home Office spokesperson told LBC: "For far too long bike thieves have brazenly got away with their crimes.
“We are committed to ensuring victims feel safe in the knowledge their bikes are safe, but also that perpetrators of these crimes will be found and brought to justice.
“We are putting 3,000 new neighbourhood officers on the beat to fight crime, catch criminals and protect communities as part of our Plan for Change.”