Free D-locks to Stop Bike Theft in Freo
February 20, 2018 1 Comment
City of Fremantle’s Community Safety Team will be giving out free D-locks in an effort to reduce bike theft.
The ‘Lock down on bike theft’ campaign will focus on Fremantle’s city centre and run from February through to April.
It is a collaboration between Fremantle Police and the City of Fremantle, with the Public Transport Authority rolling out a similar initiative at Fremantle Train Station during February.
Community Safety Team Leader Christopher Scanlan said the D-lock campaign aimed to reduce bike theft by half.
“We’ll approach cyclists find out what kind of bike lock they are using and then offer a D-lock in exchange for their old lock,” he said.
“D-locks have been proven to be quite robust and they can only be removed using a cutting device or saw whereas a standard bike cable can be cut within 10 or 15 seconds using a standard cutting device.
“Locking your bike with a D-lock is going to improve safety, make it harder for people to steal and act as a deterrent.”
The Community Safety Team has about 200 D-locks to give out to the public over the next two to three months.
Because Fremantle is such a bike friendly community, residents needed to take extra precautions.
Fremantle has a huge cycling community but unfortunately that can mean we are sometimes a target for bike thefts. We are actively working to prevent bike theft with this campaign which will encourage more people to cycle regularly.
Fremantle Police Investigations Manager Phil Gazzone said the community played a significant role in reducing bike theft by ensuring the correct locks were used.
“It’s really positive to see the joining of forces between Fremantle Police and the City of Fremantle to collaboratively tackle this crime type,” he said.
“The quality and values of bicycles these days have evolved with carbon fibre frames and can be easily moved so naturally would be of high interest to offenders prepared to commit this crime”.
The campaign will be launched at a Bike Theft Awareness Day at Kings Square on 25 February, starting at 10am.
Fremantle residents will be able to collect a free D-lock, have their bikes engraved and learn some handy tips about where to park their bikes and lock them properly.
The free D-locks are available to Fremantle residents only and are limited to one per person until stocks run out.