By Nick Leith | Posted: Monday May 16, 2022
“Help protect your family’s bikes from theft"
Bike theft is on the rise in Christchurch with an average of four bikes reported stolen to Police every day. There’s a new tool available to help combat bike theft, called 529 Garage which helps Police return stolen bikes and e-scooters to their rightful owners.
529 Garage is a quick, free and easy-to-use portal that enables you to register your family’s bikes, with photos, descriptions and serial numbers.
Once registered, you can obtain a 529 Garage shield for your bike, which is tamper-resistant and acts as a warning sign to thieves to back off because the bike is registered and Police will have no trouble identifying it as stolen. Shields are free for a limited time and can be posted straight to your door.
If your bike gets stolen, you can use 529 Garage to send an alert to the local 529 community, and have all the details on hand to report the theft to the Police. If someone sees your bike, they can contact you anonymously through the app, or you can choose to display your contact information.
Learn more and register your family’s bikes at www.ccc.govt.nz/nice-bike