Police Release ‘Top 10’ Gallery of Cycle Thieves

British Transport Police (BTP) officers are calling on members of the public to help them identify a number of cycle thieves in the Southampton area.

As part of the appeal officers have released their ‘Top 10’ images of people they want to speak to in connection with the incidents.

BTP Inspector Mick Morriss said: “Officers investigating each of these ten cases have made enquiries, followed up numerous leads and circulated the images on police intelligence systems in a bid to identify these people, but to no avail so far.

“We are now asking for the public’s help to identify these twelve people. If you know them we want to hear from you.”

Insp Morriss added: “Unfortunately cycles are a popular target for thieves but there are several steps people can take to ensure their bikes are adequately marked and secured to help reduce the risk of becoming a victim of bike theft.

“The best thing to remember is to register your bike and also to ensure a solid lock is used to secure it. If a bike is adequately marked, it makes it much easier to identify and therefore reduces its desirability to thieves.”

BTP officers regularly conduct cycle crime awareness surgeries at stations across Hampshire and other southern counties to offer crime prevention advice and each fortnight identify the top locations for bike theft, targeting them through covert and overt policing operations to catch would-be offenders in the act.

Insp Morriss added: “We will continue to work closely with South West Trains to proactively tackle cycle crime and passengers should report any suspicious behaviour to a member of staff or police.”

Anyone with any information about the incidents or who recognises anyone pictured in the CCTV images should contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference B9/LSA of 3/5/11, quoting the photograph number.

Police advice for making your bike more secure:

• Get your bike tagged and register it at www.immobilise.com
• Ensure you have a solid lock
• Always lock your bicycle through its frame, not just through the wheel
• Fix your bike to solid, immovable objects in recognised cycle storage areas
• Whenever possible, lock your bike in a busy, well-lit and CCTV-covered area

For further police advice on keeping your bike secure, email ls-cr@btp.pnn.police.uk.