Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on the Number of Bicycle Thefts in the Last Three Years as well as the Bicycle Security Label, by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

Question

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number of bicycle thefts in the last three years; (b) to date, how many bicycle owners have signed up to join the Bicycle Security Label initiative that was implemented in 2011 to tackle bicycle thefts; and (c) whether the Bicycle Security Label is still issued by the police as part of its theft prevention initiative and, if not, why has it been discontinued.

Answer:

1. The number of reported bicycle thefts has been on a downward trend in the past three years. In 2018, there were 522 cases, compared to 979 in 2016, and around 1100-1200 each year between 2011-2015.

2. The Bicycle Security Label scheme was started in 2011. About 150,000 labels were issued, before the scheme was discontinued in 2017.

3. Police found that the scheme had limited effectiveness in tackling bicycle thefts. For one thing, it was not difficult to tamper with the labels. There are more effective ways to solve bicycle theft cases, such as through the use of CCTV footages to identify the culprits.

4. Police have channelled resources to raise public awareness on preventing bicycle thefts, especially on the use of secure bicycle locks. Police have also worked with LTA and shopping malls to install CCTVs covering designated bicycle parking areas. The expansion of PolCam has also helped to deter and solve theft cases. With these efforts, the number of bicycle theft cases has fallen significantly, by over 57% since 2015.