Bicycle thefts on the rise

The scourge of bicycle theft seems to have started to rise again in the Quebec metropolis after a pandemic lull, according to figures obtained by The Press under a request for access to information.

Between the start of 2023 and the end of September, the number of reports to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) for bicycle theft reached a five-year high. As many as 2,462 people reported that their bike had been stolen, up almost 300 from the figure of 2,167 for the same period in 2022. In the first months of 2019 to 2021, the number of reports was below the 2000 mark.

Bicycle theft is “a huge problem and a significant nuisance for citizens,” says Olivier Côté, administrator of the Facebook group Vélo Volé – Montréal, which has more than 15,000 members. “Having your means of transport stolen is not only shocking and costly, but it is disorganizing. »

A feeling confirmed by Armando Menicacci, whose bike was stolen on October 31, in front of the Frontenac metro station. “First, I was really disappointed,” says the man who had secured his mount with a Kryptonite brand padlock, among the best on the market. “I’m forced to change the way I get around, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to buy a new bike. »

Kelly Waszkiewicz experienced a similar situation after a thief broke into the garage of her condo building on November 2. Luckily, however, she managed to find her bike: “I turned to the networks [sociaux], and that’s what helped me, more than the police. »

She visited numerous publications, in groups in her neighborhood in particular, and a Samaritan woman saw the bike hidden “in a bush”. “She took it and contacted me,” says M^me Waszkiewicz.

She deplores that the police cannot do “much” in such circumstances. Among her friends who had their bikes stolen, for example, “everyone who found it did it on their own, not with the help of the police,” she says.

Difficult prevention

This marked increase comes after the SPVM launched, in spring 2021, the Garage 529 project, which aims to prevent bicycle theft and receiving stolen goods. The concept is very simple: you just have to register your frame with its serial number and photos, then affix a sticker to it.

It is then possible to report a theft through the Garage 529 site or application. This all aims to facilitate the identification of the owner of a bike found and should allow second-hand buyers to ensure that they don’t get a stolen bike. Since the program came into force, the SPVM has organized more than 25 registration operations.

Communications officer at the SPVM, Caroline Labelle believes that “the increase in the number of bicycles reported stolen can be explained by several factors”. For example, people may be more “aware of reporting this type of theft”.

Similar situation in Laval

North of the metropolis, the Laval Police Department has also noted an upward trend in the number of reported bicycle thefts. As of September 30, 2023, no less than 135 thefts had been reported to the police force.

On the same date in the previous four years, an average of 102 thefts was observed, with a barely higher peak of 108 in 2021.

Discordant note in Greater Montreal: Longueuil, where the 210 thefts reported from the start of the year until the end of August mark a low since 2020, when this figure stood at 283. Only the portrait of 2019 is better, with 196 flights. In the Longueuil agglomeration, the police are also trying to put forward the Garage 529 project, the police force confirmed.