BikeTrac report 90% recovery rate of stolen vehicles

Motorcycle tracking company BikeTrac have recorded their busiest summer of recoveries in a year that has seen the rate of motorcycle crime soar.

With an increasing number of bikes being stolen, trackers often provide one of the most effective means of getting the machine recovered. 

So far, this year, 248 machines with Biketrac fitted have been stolen, with the company reporting that 220 of those machines have been recovered. That’s nearly a 90% recovery rate, which is frankly astounding considering the number of bikes stolen without trackers that are never seen again.

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BikeTrac’s Sales & Marketing Director Bill Taylor explained, “Naturally summer is our busiest period because more bikes are on the road, but what this summer showed us is that bike theft is rife and thieves are starting to target a wider range of machines. 

“While our statistics are unique to what we sell and protect, we’ve seen a trend moving slightly towards smaller machines this summer. We’ve recovered more bikes, but in actual fact the total value of bikes recovered has dropped, mainly down to us recovering smaller, less valuable machines too now.”

It’s meant that BikeTrac has recovered machinery to the value of £1.4m this year alone. An encouraging statistic, especially with an average of 45-50 motorcycles stolen every day, with London accounting for the majority of these.

The numbers

From August 1 2015 to July 31 2016 there were 12,001 thefts of scooters, mopeds and motorcycles according to the Metropolitan Police. For the 12 months ending July 31 2017, there were 14,868 offences. According to the Motorcycle Industry Association 60% of all recorded scooter thefts in the UK last year were in London alone, despite less than 10% of the UK’s registered motorcycles and scooters being within the capital. 

Despite the increase, the Metroplitan Police say they are working hard to combat the situation. In 2015 the force launched Operation Venice, which tackles theft and crimes involving powered two wheelers. “Operation Venice officers conduct targeted operations throughout London to prevent and detect moped theft,” Director or Media and Communication at the Metropolitan Police Service Mark Ottowell said.

“The operations include mass checks on stationary and moving powered two wheelers, raids on individuals suspected of stealing motorcycles and mopeds or using them to commit crimes, high visibility patrols in key areas, Automatic Number Plate Reader deployments and provision of free locks to owners at motorcycle parking bays.”

You can read more on the motorcycle crime increases here and find out more about BikeTrac here.

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