An anti-theft information bicycle was placed at the Swan Leisure Centre in Rathmines yesterday after the initiative was seen to be effective in other Garda districts, the Gardai have said.
The concept involves an end-of-life bike painted in bright colours with a sign on it with bicycle theft warnings and reminders. The bikes are usually placed at hotspots for bike theft.
“This ‘Info Bike’ initiative has proven to be a cost effective measure in combating bicycle theft in other Garda districts. The ‘Info Bike’ in Rathmines has been placed for trial for a two month period. Afterwards a review will be carried out of the initiatives effectiveness,” said a post on the Garda Facebook page.
According to an article in Garda Review, a when the concept was trialled in Dun Laoghaire in October 2014 “the first three months of its use, coincided with a reduction of 15% in bike theft compared to the previous three months in the Dun Laoghaire sub-district.” Although the article author noted “Further assessment will be required to determine how much of these reductions can be directly attributed to the introduction of the info bike.”
The bicycle was placed by Gardai from Rathmines Garda Station and with the aid of Dublin City Council. Pictured below with local probationer Gardai are Dublin City Council’s walking and cycling promotions officer Sarah Scannell and the council’s public domain officer Kevin O’Sullivan.
The corpo will take it away like they did with the white ghost bikes.