CRIME the small stuff:The Tánaiste's promised specialist Garda unit never materialised but bicycle theft is easier to prevent than to solve. Ronan McGreevyreports
Daniel Song takes no chances on his rounds visiting the elderly of Dublin. The Stealth mountain bike he rides was given to the charity he works for after an appeal. It's hardly worth stealing but, nevertheless, he takes every precaution. "If I can, I ask the people I visit can I take it in the hallway or around the back," he says.
"If not, I use two locks. One's a chain link with a padlock and other is one of those corded ones that looks thick and imposing."
Daniel has good reason to be cautious. The Dublin Friends of the Elderly once depended on the use of bicycles which are quick and, with a limited budget, much cheaper than using a car or taking public transport.
Despite having three full-time volunteers, they only have one bicycle. "We had so many bicycles robbed, it was mind-bending," says co-ordinator Niamh Macken, who estimates that they had seven bicycles stolen in the space of a couple of years.
"As the bicycles were stolen, we were replacing them. At one stage, it became absolutely insane."
Two volunteers who tethered their bicycles at Tara Street station to visit some people in Bray came back to find their bicycles stolen. A special lock imported from Paris proved useless when a volunteer emerged from a swim at the Seán McDermott Street pool to find the lock on the ground and the bicycle stolen.
After a radio appeal, they were donated two bicycles from a man in Co Meath. One was stolen within a few weeks; the other is now guarded with their lives.
"I don't think the last time that we went near the gardaí because there is nothing that can be done about it. It was very depressing for us because it curtails the visitation work here of the volunteers," she says.
Few cyclists do not have a tale of misery, of finding their locks cut and their bicycles gone.
Bicycle theft is the kind of low-grade crime that rarely makes the headlines, though two years ago Minister for Justice Michael McDowell ensured that it did just that. In response to figures which showed a rise of 80 per cent in bicycle thefts in the second quarter of 2005, Mr McDowell said he would set up a special Garda unit to deal with the crime.
Almost two years on, no such initiative has been forthcoming. Instead, the Garda initiated a leaflet campaign which it distributed through every Crime Prevention Unit in the country, and in turn to schools, campuses and community halls.
The leaflet recommended keeping a record of the serial number, registering it with the Garda, ensuring that it has a secure lock and keeping the bicycle in a well-lit place. Commonsense advice and an acknowledgment by gardaí that bicycle theft is much more preventable than solvable.
The initiative would appear to have worked. The number of bicycle thefts last year was down from 500 to 310, a drop of almost 40 per cent.
Nobody who cycles, however, believes that figure is anywhere near the reality of a crime that is chronically under-reported. Cycleways in Parnell Place get an average of 200 inquiries a year just from people wanting to print off receipts to claim insurance back for their bicycle being stolen.
Green Party frontbencher John Gormley, probably the best-known cycling politician in the country, believes in being a realist when it comes to bicycle theft. He suffered his most recent loss earlier this month while he was canvassing in Portobello.
"You don't bother reporting that you've had a bicycle stolen. I've had bicycles taken and I didn't bother reporting them. You feel that the guards are out there running after serious criminals and they won't give it that sort of priority. I can sort of agree with that. It is extremely difficult to ask the gardaí to go searching places for a bicycle.
"The emphasis has to be on prevention. Once the bicycle is stolen, it is probably too late. We wouldn't have to be reporting it to the gardaí if we had proper lock-up facilities. This is a new era where the bicycle, I'm quite sure, will be making a comeback because of traffic and climate change. It's a priority for the Green Party."
Series concluded