We’ve tried very hard to provide a high security cycle hub but we all know and admit that nothing, nowhere is impregnable from those determined to get in. With the recent IT hacks of big name retailers to smaller scale break-ins at your local shop, or even your own home. If people think that it will be worth the effort they will do everything to get in.
In October we had our first unauthorised entry at the Sheffield City Centre Hub, the first involved getting into our shop and stealing two bicycles, the second the same person returned equipped and forced their way into the hub and stole one bicycle.
This is incredibly upsetting to us and the owners of the bikes, not least for the inconvenience but also the downright disrespect this person has for ours and your property.
It was good to hear though that working with Sheffield City Council’s City Centre Management Team and South Yorkshire Police using our CCTV footage the culprit was identified and subsequently arrested by Thames Valley Police, this guy gets around!
We’ve been installing more kit to make the building less attractive and more difficult to enter but we have to balance that with maintaining your 24/7 access. So we are ask you to help us help you and protect your property.
There are some things you can help us with:
The bike that was stolen from the hub was locked up with, what we term, a Poundland lock, these are very easy to break and the thief looked for the bike that was most vulnerable. If you intend to lock your bike up in the hub use something decent, we recommend a Sold Secure Gold Rated D-lock, we have them in our shop if you need one, they aren’t as expensive as you think at £35.00 Kranx Citadel Lock
Make sure the doors are closed behind you and are secure before walking away, a little thing but the person who burgled our shop stepped into the hub as someone left.
If you see anyone lingering outside then report it to our fault reporting service and we will get onto it: Fault Report
If you find anything suspicious, the doors don’t lock, there is something broken or there is someone in the hub you think is acting suspiciously then report to us, we can do something about it. Fault Report
When locking your bike make sure the frame is locked to the stand not just the wheel. Just like the images below.
Using the upper deck of the two-tier racks is actually more secure than the lower tier, thieves tend not to like to look up and be obvious, it also can take some of them a while to figure out how the stands work.
Please help us to make these facilities more secure, we can’t afford to have the place manned 24/7. Tell your friends & colleagues about the location too, the more people that are using the hub the less attractive it is for would-be thieves.