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AN average of 590 bicycles were stolen every year in the last five years - but the cases have been falling since 2005 because of crime prevention measures.
The free bicycle engraving services provided by police since 2005 at selected neighbourhoods has also been an effective deterrent.
Bicycle thefts typically took place at common areas in public housing estates such as void decks, corridors, staircase landings, lift landings as well as at bicycle bays located at MRT and LRT stations.
In most cases, the culprits tampered with the bicycle chains or locks used to secure the bicycles. There were also cases where opportunistic perpetrators took off with bicycles that were left unattended or unsecured.
Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng gave these details in his written reply to a question from MP Irene Ng (Tampines GRC) who had asked what has been done to prevent such thefts.
The peak for bicycle theft was in 2005 when 790 cases were reported. This fell to 580 cases last year. For the first two months this year, about 80 cases of bicycle theft have been reported, which is the lowest number when compared to the same periods from 2005 to 2007. Bicycle thefts have been on a downward trend since 2005, said Mr Wong.
Police has been working with Town Councils to install CCTV cameras at HDB common areas in phases, for crime prevention and to improve the sense of security of residents.
'We have also worked with HDB to incorporate a security and crime prevention package in the list of upgrading options available for residents' selection under the HDB Upgrading Programme,' added Mr Wong.
'HDB residents now have the choice to opt to have CCTVs at their neighbourhood as part of their selection of upgrading features. I encourage residents to opt for this package.'
Police have also been providing free bicycle engraving services since 2005 at selected NPCs where there are a higher concentration of bicycle user population. Engraving of unique serial ID numbers onto bicycles has proven to be an effective crime deterrent measure and has led to the recovery of stolen bicycles which were engraved.
As an example, Mr Wong said bicycle thefts around Pasir Ris dropped significantly from 34 reported cases in 2005 to just 8 and 7 reported cases in 2006 and 2007 respectively since the implementation of the bicycle engraving scheme by Pasir Ris NPC. Over at Toa Payoh East, the engraving and registration initiative implemented by Toa Payoh NPC resulted in a 50 per cent fall in bicycle theft cases - from 42 cases in 2006 to 21 cases in 2007.
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