"A "bike bait" unit should be set up in the National Crime Agency to catch bicycle thieves, the Liberal Democrats have said. The party has argued that the dedicated team could work with local police forces to place bikes, fitted with trackers, in theft hotspots enabling officers to trace thieves and gather evidence about wider criminal networks. It has cited Home Office data showing that across England and Wales 86% of bike thefts went unsolved between March 2024 and March 2025."
"In the past, some police forces have been able to use these tactics to retrieve stolen bikes and convict offenders. In 2024, ITV News reported that City of London Police officers were able to follow a tracked bait bike which led them to a warehouse where around 130,000 stolen bicycles were being stored. In the three months after arrests were made, thefts in the area fell by 90%."
"A Home Office spokesperson said plans for 3,000 new neighbourhood police officers would help stop bike thieves, who have been getting away with their crimes "for far too long". Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said: "Every single day, thousands of victims are denied the justice they deserve... the government cannot afford to dither and delay, they must crack down on unsolved crimes.""
The Liberal Democrats propose a National Crime Agency 'bike bait' unit to work with local forces using bikes fitted with trackers placed in theft hotspots to trace thieves and gather intelligence on wider criminal networks. Home Office data show 86% of bike thefts in England and Wales went unsolved between March 2024 and March 2025, with many forces exceeding 80% unsolved and some above 90%. The proposal aims to build a national picture of bike theft and replicate past successes where tracked bait bikes and fake second-hand shops helped recover large caches of stolen bicycles and reduce thefts sharply. The government highlights plans for 3,000 new neighbourhood police officers as part of the response.
Read at www.bbc.com
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