Bike thefts frustrate Adelaide cyclists as councillor warns of ‘theft-to-second-hand-market’ pipeline

The high number of bike thefts in Adelaide’s CBD is putting the brakes on commuters with 287 reported stolen in the past six months and many more going unreported.

Adelaide Bike chairperson David Elliot said thieves were using pocket-sized power tools to cut through locks before putting the bikes in storage to “cool off” before selling them on the second-hand market.

“We’re at a point where this theft-to-second-hand market pipeline is quite mature, so we’ve been aware of cases where bikes have been shipped interstate or to different towns, or different ends of the city,” he said.

He said this was to avoid the 5 or 10-kilometre radius filters people might use when searching the likes of Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace for their stolen items.

A police spokesperson said 287 bicycle thefts had been reported in Adelaide’s CBD between April 1 and September 26.

But Mr Elliot said police figures did not reflect the true number of thefts because most people only reported the loss of high-value bikes, with a perception that low-value bike thefts did not get investigated.

“The more professional outfits are going around with a power tool, a pocket circular saw, and that will probably get through some of the more heavy-duty locks,” he said.

“A colleague had three bikes of theirs stolen in 12 months, and two of those bikes were within a week of each other.

“They had a bike stolen while visiting their sick mum at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and then they got out their back-up bike and that got stolen a few days after.”

Low-value bikes stolen

University student Monty, whose full name has been withheld for privacy, has had two bikes stolen in seven months.

His first was stolen from outside the Womadelaide music festival in March where he had been volunteering until after dark.

“It was not particularly valuable. It was from the Blackwood Uniting Church Bike Shed and I bought it for about $200,” Monty said.

“I was fortunate enough to have some family that towed me home on my skateboard as they still had their bikes.”

Monty’s second bike was stolen from outside a business on Flinders Street where he was undertaking a university placement.

He said it was “not at all valuable” and had originally been put out on the street by a neighbour.

“Why would you bother stealing a bike that doesn’t even have much value?” Monty said.

“It’s just a pure inconvenience to students and I’ve heard that it’s happening a lot to many people around Adelaide.”

Both bikes were locked up at the time of theft.

All bikes targeted

SAPOL Senior Constable Sophie Hodge said thieves targeted any type of bike and those that looked easiest to steal were the most attractive.

“Making your bike appear hard to steal is the best thing you can do,” she said.

“Thieves usually don’t want to spend too much time trying to take a bike [because] the more time they’re taking, the more risk there is being spotted by someone, so make it look hard.

“You can do this by using two strong locks, a D-lock that secures the fame and one of the wheels to a secure object, and then also a heavy-duty chain that secures the other wheel to the first lock.”

Senior Constable Hodge advised that a person who returned to their bike to find a flat tyre should not leave it because a thief might have let the tyres down to buy themselves extra time to steal it.

Mr Elliot, who was also an Adelaide City Councillor, would like to see private security services at places like university campuses to take a more active approach to preventing bikes from getting stolen.

A University of Adelaide spokesperson said its security staff actively monitored for suspicious activity “including at bike racks and surrounding access routes”.

“While bikes do go missing from time to time from the North Terrace campus, the university has secure bike cages, comprehensive CCTV coverage and 24-hour security patrols that deter potential thieves,” she said.

“Security staff remain vigilant for potential offenders and take action where necessary. All thefts are recorded in our security incident system for ongoing review and response.”