New app to help track down stolen bikes

Police Scotland has launched a new app to help investigate bike thefts and return lost and stolen cycles to their rightful owners.
Mark Dowie
By Mark Dowie
Published 2nd Jan 2023, 15:00 BST
The app can help to track down bikes on the Bike Register database which have been reported stolen.The app can help to track down bikes on the Bike Register database which have been reported stolen.
The app can help to track down bikes on the Bike Register database which have been reported stolen.

Since early December, all frontline officers have been able to upload the Bike Register database app to their mobile devices, providing them with a comprehensive list of all bikes registered throughout the country.The app allows any police officer the opportunity to run the VIN number of any bike they locate to establish who the real owner is.Police Scotland and Bike Register have worked together for several years and policing teams across the country have undertaken bike marking and registration events, encouraging cyclists to register their bikes on the database.Anyone who bought or received a new bike for Christmas is urged to ensure they upload their details to the database.Sergeant Carly Bryce from Police Scotland’s Acquisitive Crime Team said: “Thanks to the development of the app for police mobile devices, we can instantaneously carry out a check ourselves and if the bike is registered and found to be in the possession of someone who is not the owner, we can respond swiftly and appropriately.”

Further information can be found at www.bikeregister.com.