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When a thief moved in to steal an expensive Scott carbon fiber racing bike from Gary Cardiff, a human resources executive and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, it didn’t end well for him.
Cardiff (37) was cycling from her home in Dublin’s Inchicore to Howth Head one day when she realized she had forgotten her pump on the way and ventured into an East Wall supermarket to buy one.
Since he was training at the time, he didn’t have a lock, so he took the bike up the escalator and took it straight to the supermarket. He then “gave the security guard a nod” before placing the bike behind the box in hopes that it would be safe there. It was not.
“I walked down the hall, never taking my eyes off the bike the whole time, and then I saw this guy walk up, pick it up, and walk out the door with it,” he says. “I had to pause after him. He was already on the street when I went out with him.
“I’m running in cleated cycling shoes [rigid shoe plates] “He said.” I caught him and turned to grab him and ended up punching him. Then I was able to hold him; he wrapped his arm up and put my knee on his neck, “he said of his honed skills in the octagon of MMA gathering strength in the Street.
“When I pinned him down, just to hold him there instead of hurting him, I was able to use my other hand to call the guards.” Gardaí arrested the man on the spot. A conviction followed and the culprit was eventually fined 300 euros, and spent two days in prison when he failed to pay the fine.
Other bicycle theft victims have less successful stories to tell, as thefts are increasing alongside an increase in cycling spending in Ireland.
Bike to work scheme
In the five years to 2008, around 3,000 bicycle thefts were reported to the Garda each year. The government then introduced the bike to work scheme, offering a tax exemption on spending of up to € 1,000, now increased to € 1,250, for the purchase of bicycles and equipment. The scheme resulted in a boom in bicycle sales, especially expensive bikes, and thefts doubled, to 6,000 per year in 2013. Between 2014 and 2019, bicycle thefts were within a range of between 5,200 and 6,000 per year. .
New figures obtained by The Irish Times show that bicycle thefts increased by 7 percent in the first nine months of 2020 despite the Republic practically shutting down due to Covid-19 and all other property-related crimes were collapsed.
Trends in 2020 were erratic: bike thefts fell 15 percent at the start of the lockdown and increased later once bike sales and cycling participation rates increased.
Gary Cardiff, who stopped a man stealing his bike: “I saw this guy come over, pick it up, and walk out the door with it.” Photography: Nick Bradshaw
An Ipso MRBI survey conducted between February and May last year showed that the number of people riding bicycles increased by 51 percent to 510,000. Research by AIB showed that bicycle sales increased by 49 percent last May and 70 percent in June. Around the same time, bicycle thefts also skyrocketed: They jumped 46 percent in Dublin last June and rose 40 percent nationally.
Research by the Dublin Cycling Campaign has shown that only one in four bicycle thefts are reported to the Garda, meaning that the actual number of bicycles stolen each year is at least 20,000. Campaign research has also shown that 1 percent of robberies result in a conviction, that one in six victims never replace a stolen bicycle, and that three-quarters of all bicycle thefts nationally occur in Dublin.
The Irish Times spoke to several victims this week who recounted how their bikes, which are often worth thousands, were stolen from garden sheds, garages or inside their homes. Others were taken away while they were locked in the street, and one man described how a bicycle was stolen from the back of his car as he ran to a charity shop to donate items. One victim reported that she was stopped by a group of teenagers and beaten and assaulted by her bicycle.
Drumcondra electric bike
Another person said that his mountain bike, valued at 3,500 euros, had been stolen outside a Dublin train station, adding that both suspects were caught and that one was only 12 years old. “Based on the Garda investigation, the older thief took the bicycle directly onto the train, with the assumption that he sold it that day,” the victim said.
One woman reported that her 14-year-old nephew’s electric bicycle was recently stolen in Drumcondra, north of Dublin. “It was very disturbing, some older teens just followed him and took him away,” he said.
Another person said his bike had been stolen from the parking lot at his apartment complex, even though it was behind security gates and covered by CCTV. “The gardaí said it would take too long to review the footage. I wasn’t sure which day of a week’s period was taken, so they didn’t follow up. “
Some victims strongly suspected that their cases were never really investigated despite having submitted reports to the Garda. Several Garda sources who spoke to The Irish Times said the thefts were investigated but accepted that many cases were low priority due to other workloads. Others said high-value thefts of multiple bicycles during the same crime, such as a robbery, or a series of bicycle thefts in the same area would likely receive more attention.
There is also some evidence that bicycles were stolen and exported in large quantities in containers. However, gardaí believes that the crime of bike theft is primarily domestic in nature and is often an entry crime for children, with very young children often used to spot expensive bicycles and then older children are called with angle grinders to cut padlocks.
Stolen bikes are increasingly being sold on Facebook Marketplace and similar online sites, sometimes for a fraction of what they are worth, both Gardaí and the victims say.
Another man said a group of children used an angle grinder to break his lock and steal his € 1,500 electric bike parked near a Luas stop on O’Connell Street, with a tourist recording a video of the crime on his phone and showing it to you. when he returned to the area minutes later.
“It took them less than 40 seconds,” he said of the youth gang. “I was surprised that it could happen on O’Connell Street on such a day; in the middle of that capital city street with an angle grinder. . . I don’t know many cities in Europe where you can use an angle grinder like that on the main street at 4 o’clock in the day. It’s really ridiculous. “
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