Police recovered five stolen bikes from a Wellington property on Thursday, as
a result of ongoing efforts to target this type of offending in the district.

Three bikes have already been reunited with their rightful owner and Police
are working to identify who the other two bikes belong to.

This is a great result for our staff and our communities. It is great to be
able to contact a victim of a high value burglary and inform them that we
have recovered their stolen items.

Further to yesterday's result, staff recovered three e-bikes, a mountain
bike, two motorbikes and a stolen vehicle last week.

A 24-year-old man is facing charges in relation to receiving stolen property.

These results reflect the commitment of our staff to investigate all matters
reported and we will continue to recover stolen property where possible.

We rely on the public to be our eyes and ears, and ask anyone who sees any
suspicious activity, including an excessive amount of bikes at a private
address, or a person carrying tools such as grinders or bolt cutters near
bike racks, to report it to us.

Often these thefts are occurring in broad daylight, so please if you notice
anything out of the ordinary report it to Police immediately.

A key focus for Police is preventing crime from happening in the first place.

It’s important to ensure your bike is locked, placed in a brightly lit and
public area, and you have taken note of the serial number.

The 529 Garage (free bike registration service) [1] was launched earlier this
year by Canterbury Police and Christchurch City Council, and is a useful
service for bike owners to enter their serial number, details of any
identifying features, as well as photos of their bike.

Police would also like to remind the community to be cautious when buying or
selling online and to trust your instincts – if it sounds to good to be
true, it probably is and you should report it to Police.

We take burglary and theft incidents seriously, if you are in a situation
where you feel unsafe, or you see something suspicious, call 111 immediately.

To report a crime after it has happened, contact Police on 105, or
anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
 

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