The Benelux countries are joining forces with the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia to address the growing issue of cross-border bicycle theft.
Benelux countries join forces with German state of North Rhine-Westphalia to tackle cross-border bicycle theft
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Millions of bicycles are stolen in Europe each year. Many are taken by organised networks of bicycle thieves that operate across national borders.
The aim of the cooperation agreement that was announced on Tuesday is to speed up investigations into stolen bikes and to significantly increase the chances of catching bicycle thieves.
Improving data exchange
The secretary-general of the Benelux Union Frans Weekers told the press agency Belga that “Bicycle theft is not a minor problem. It undermines citizens' confidence in sustainable mobility and discourages people from using bicycles”.
The three concrete measures are contained in the cooperation agreement. First of all, police forces will improve data exchange procedures to enable stolen bicycles to be identified and traced more quickly, even if they are found in a neighbouring country.
Secondly, police cooperation will be strengthened through joint checks and investigations.
Finally, plans are in place to link national bicycle registration systems like the MyBike platform that exists here in Belgium. This will enable the identity of a bicycle’s owner to be checked more quickly.