Calgary police: Recovery rate for stolen bikes improving

Bikes are booming, but so is bike theft. The good news is, that according to Calgary police, more people are getting their bicycles returned. According to a CBC report, Calgary Const. Phil Tabelon said that in 2019, if you got your bike stolen, the chances of getting it back were low–cops managed to return only 12 per cent of stolen bicycles to their owners.

In 2022, already more than 1,000 bikes have been reported stolen to the Calgary Police, Tabelon said. And that doesn’t account for the many other unreported thefts.

However, in September alone, Tabelon said their bike unit squad has already managed to get 55 bikes back to their rightful riders.

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“If they’re reporting the bike stolen, it makes it easier for us to reunite owners,” he said.”But we will still do our due diligence and try to get the bikes back.”

Police say that more often than not, people will unknowingly buy a bike that has been ripped off. He says the cycling community can do wonders for recovery by asking questions about the bike they are purchasing. He also said that bike shops and serial numbers can help with figuring out if the bike belongs to someone else. If you see a bike with a sticker from a store, they recommend calling the store before going ahead and purchasing it, in case the bike is hot.

Police also use social media that is focused on stolen bikes to try and get people’s precious property back to them.

They also comb social media pages dedicated to stolen bicycles.

“Owners don’t have faith that they’re going to get their bikes back, but we’re always on the lookout,” Tabelon said.