The British Transport Police has announced a reversal of its controversial policy not to investigate bicycles stolen from outside train stations if they were left for more than two hours, or stolen bikes worth less than £200.
It was revealed that the BTP wouldn’t investigate certain bike thefts in October, after the policy was introduced in August 2024. The policy meant most thefts would not be investigated because CCTV footage would not be reviewed after the two-hour timeframe.
But today the BTP revealed it updated the cycle-theft section of its Crime Screening Policy on 5 January “to enhance the force’s service to victims of this crime”.
The BTP’s assistant chief constable, Ian Drummond-Smith, says: “Rail passengers whose bikes are stolen rightly expect a thorough police investigation to trace offenders and reunite them with their property, and we are committed to bringing more bike thieves to justice in 2026 than ever before.
“To further improve our service to victims, and following an internal review, we have recently refreshed our Crime Screening Policy.
“Under this updated Policy, our officers will investigate more reports and explore all viable lines of enquiry if a bike is identifiable on CCTV, or if there is a witness to the crime.”
Drummond-Smith added that since reviewing the policy, the BTP has already charged a man with cycle theft.
There is now no reference to the cost of a bike or the amount of time a bike was left unattended in the BTP’s policy. It says a crime will be screened if there is a witness to the offence, the bike is identifiable on CCTV or the bike was stored in an on-train cycle rack.
When the BTP first introduced its revised policy not to investigate certain bike thefts, a spokesperson for the force told the BBC: “Our experience tells us at an early stage that there are some crimes that are unlikely to ever be solved – such as those without a clear estimate of time or location for the incident or if there is a lack of CCTV or witnesses.
“The more time our officers spend reviewing CCTV footage for these offences, the less time they have available for patrolling railway stations and trains, investigating crimes which cause the most harm and providing a visible presence across the network.”
Between 2021 and 2023, more than 14,000 bicycles were stolen from outside train stations. There was a 39 per cent increase from 2022 to 2023 in the number of bikes reported as stolen from outside stations.
The BTP’s previous policy was heavily criticised by cycling advocacy groups. Cycling UK’s Sophie Gordon said the decision not to investigate the theft of bicycles left for more than two hours would “hit the lowest income groups the hardest”.
“These are often working people who might not be able to afford a car and are relying on bikes and public transport to get to work. If you’re on shift or at work, you will inevitably be away longer than a couple of hours,” she said.
Days after the BTP’s policy not to investigate certain bike thefts was revealed, it sought to clarify its position. Drummond-Smith appeared on the BBC’s Today programme, where he explained the BTP targets bike-theft hot spots.
The BTP also released a statement, which has now been deleted from its website.
