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Source:
www.mha.gov.sg
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Oral Answer to Parliamentary
Question on bicycle thefts, 19 September 05 |
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Dr Ong Seh Hong: |
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To ask the Minister for Home Affairs |
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(a) if he could provide the statistics of
bicycle thefts for the past five years; |
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(b) whether there is an increasing trend of
such thefts; |
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(c) what are the "hot spots" of such thefts; |
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(d) what is the plan of his Ministry to
overcome such a problem; and |
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(e) will his Ministry consider the
re-introduction of mandatory registration of all bicycles |
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Answer: |
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The number of cases of bicycle theft
averaged around 400 cases a year from 2000 to 2004. In the first half of
this year, 435 cases were reported. |
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In the past, Police had sometimes grouped
bicycle thefts under theft and other offences. The trend came to
Police's attention late last year and has since been closely monitored.
This may account for the higher number of cases reported for the first
half of this year. |
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Police has noted the recent increase in
bicycle theft cases, and is working with various groups to deal with the
problem in a comprehensive manner. |
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There are no particular geographical
locations or 'hot spots' that are more prone to bicycle theft. Bicycle
theft cases take place island- wide at areas ranging from common areas
of public housing estates to streets, commercial premises, landed
residential premises, outside MRT stations and at private apartments or
condominiums. |
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In 2004, 9 out of 10 bicycles stolen in
public places were not secured at designated bicycle bays. Instead, the
vast majority of those stolen were secured to lamp posts, railings and
pipes. |
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Police has been working closely with
grassroots organisations and the local community network to formulate
Community Safety and Security Programmes (CSSP) to deter and detect
bicycle theft. |
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One recent example was the "Lock-your-ride,
Mark-your-bike - Bicycle Theft CSSP Project" by the Citizens'
Consultative Committees (CCCs), Residents' Committees (RCs) and
Neighbourhood Committees (NCs) in Pasir Ris East and West Divisions, and
the Pasir Ris Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC). |
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The CSSP project team developed an education
programme to educate bicycle owners on how to protect their bicycles
from theft. |
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This encompassed encouraging residents to
use locks and chains to secure their bicycles and introducing a database
of bicycle owners and their bicycles in the Pasir Ris area, under which
bicycles would be prominently marked with serial numbers to deter theft,
and the respective owners' particulars and contact details would be
recorded in this database. When a stolen or lost bicycle is recovered,
this database will help identify its owner. |
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Another initiative is a project by Ang Mo
Kio Police Division and Temasek Polytechnic to design a bicycle bay lock
that locks all the important components of the bicycle. Thus far, this
new bicycle bay lock has been implemented in 31 blocks in Sengkang with
a total of 180 stands. |
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Besides engaging the grassroots
organisations, Police will continue to work with relevant agencies such
as SMRT to install CCTVs at strategic locations at various MRT Stations,
like Pasir Ris, Tampines, Kembangan MRT stations, to deter bicycle
thieves and detect suspicious activity. |
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Efforts to engage SMRT staff to look out for
bicycle theft have also been helpful, with the arrest of a bicycle thief
by Pasir Ris MRT staff on 1 April 05. This initiative is currently being
monitored and evaluated for possible expansion to other neighbourhoods
in Singapore. |
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In addition, Police will continue to educate
the public through crime prevention exhibitions and house visits, which
will be conducted throughout the year. |
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As to whether we should re-introduce
mandatory registration of bicycles, the Ministry of Transport is of the
view that such a move would not only be regressive but unnecessarily
subject bicycle owners to onerous requirements. |
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Bicycles have been exempted from
registration requirements since 1982 as they are increasingly used for
recreational purposes rather than as a mode of transport. Developed
countries like UK, Japan, USA, EU countries, Australia and New Zealand
also do not require bicycles to be registered. |
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Source:
www.mha.gov.sg Press Release 19 Sep
2005 |
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FrontPage Edition: Mon 10 Oct 2005
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