Gardaí at Henry Street Garda Station have arrested and charged a teenage boy in relation to the theft of fourteen (14) bicycles in Limerick City.
The incidents occurred from August to November 2018. The juvenile was arrested Friday 16th November 2018 and brought to Henry Street Gardaí Station where he has since been charged and is due to appear before Limerick City District Court today, 17th November 2018 at 2.00pm.
Speaking at Henry Street Garda Station, Crime Prevention Officer Sgt Ber Leech said ‘We recently launched our ‘Lock it or Lose it’ campaign and I would ask everyone who cycles to lock their bikes as securely as possible. A few simple tips such as; spending 10% to 20% of the value of the bike on two locks, locking your bike tightly to an immovable object and keep the lock off the ground, will make life difficult for the thief. Take a photo of your bike, note the serial number and email it back to yourself so you have a record of it.
Of the 14,000 or so bikes stolen since 2016, we have only approximately 16% of the bicycle frame numbers recorded’.
Sgt Leech added ‘There is a trend of not reporting the theft of bikes to Gardaí which makes it difficult for us to reunite any recovered bikes with their owners. If your bike is stolen, report the theft to Gardaí as soon as you can. If you are buying a second hand bike, look for proof of ownership before purchasing. If you have had your bicycle stolen, you can go onto the Garda website to view bicycles and all other recovered property that is currently in our property stores. Further information can be found at:
https://www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/office-of-corporate-communications/news-media/garda-%E2%80%98lock-it-or-lose-it-campaign.html
Note to editors; Gardaí have not been able to identify the owner of one bicycle recovered by Gardaí in the course of this investigation. A photograph is available from pressoffice@garda.ie
