A teenage boy has been arrested and charged with the theft of fourteen bicycles in Limerick city. He will appear before Limerick City District Court today.

The bike thefts happened between August and this month. 

Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Ber Leech said “We recently launched our ‘Lock it or Lose it’ campaign and I would ask everyone who cycles to lock their bikes as securely as possible.”

Garda advice is to spend 10 to 20 per cent of the value of the bike on two locks, lock the bike tightly to an immovable object and keep the lock off the ground.

Photo

Take a photo of your bike, note the serial number and email it back to yourself so you have a record of it, the gardai advise.

Of the 14,000 or so bikes stolen since 2016, only 16 per cent of owners had the numbers recorded.

Sgt Leech added “There is a trend of not reporting the theft of bikes which makes it difficult for us to reunite any recovered bikes with their owners. 

“If your bike is stolen, report the theft to gardaí as soon as you can. 

Proof of ownership

If you are buying a second hand bike, look for proof of ownership before purchasing. If you have had your bicycle stolen, you can go onto the garda website to view bicycles and all other recovered property that is currently in our property stores.”

Further information can be found at: https://www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/office-of-corporate-communications/news-media/garda-%E2%80%98lock-it-or-lose-it-campaign.html