Bike thief caught after Met officers quick thinking

An eagle-eyed team of officers chased down a bike thief as the policing operation for last Saturday's Ride London event proved a great success.

The three officers from the Met's Cycle Task Force, part of the Safer Transport Command, were tasked with plain clothes patrols within central London as part of the policing operation.

They spotted a grey coloured 'Trek SU2.0' bike which had been left unattended in Canada Gate and suspecting the bike may be stolen, or had already been stolen and left there by the offender until the coast was clear, they maintained their observations.

Soon enough, a man - dressed in a cycle helmet and sunglasses - approached the bike, wheeled it away before mounting it. As the officers approached the man, he threw down the bike and ran off towards Piccadilly. Two officers pursued on foot while the third got on the bike and chased down the suspect - he was arrested near Piccadilly having tried to dispose of his helmet and sunglasses.

The man, aged 25, was taken to a central London police station where it was discovered he was wanted for a previous bike theft. He was charged with two counts of theft of a pedal cycle and one count of shoplifting.

Sergeant Neil Redman, part of the team that snared the thief, said:

"This man clearly came to central London with the intention of stealing bikes. When he realised he had been cornered by officers he tried to flee but the quick thinking of my colleagues, PC Alex Hannah and PC Darren Goode, meant he was not going to get away."

Chief Superintendent BJ Harrington, Silver Commander for the policing of the Ride London Event, added:

"The work of the officers and PCSOs on the ground has been tremendous from deterring thefts to providing crime reduction advice.

"There were three reported thefts in the footprint of our operation on Saturday compared to 17 on the same day last year. In addition to that, we've managed to security mark 675 bikes as well as give out advice to hundreds of cyclists."

The owner of the bike has not been traced as yet; anyone with information is asked to contact the Met's Cycle Task Force via 101.

Source Metropolitan Police: http://content.met.police.uk/News/Bike-thief-snared/1400025758824/1257246745756

Bike security: http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/vehicle-and-bike-security/504/bicycle-security/