Tough lessons: England's universities are bike theft hot spots
- Figures cover university areas of the 10 towns and cities with highest student populations in England
- On average one cycle theft was recorded for every 66 students
- Cambridge topped the table with 1,747 instances of theft, or one for every 22 students, followed by Bristol and Oxford
- Education buildings are the second most common location for cycle theft within these towns and cities
- 96% of cases either resulted in no suspect being identified or had no outcome recorded; only 0.15% resulted in a suspect being charged or cautioned
- Students can claim a free BikeRegister security marking kit when they join Cycling UK, as well as discounted Yellow Jersey cycle insurance
Cycling UK is calling on students to protect their bikes, as new figures reveal the extent of cycle theft in England’s biggest university towns and cities.
Using data from its insurance partner Yellow Jersey, the UK’s cycling charity looked at reported cycle theft figures across the 10 locations with the highest student populations in England.
Unsurprisingly, giving its fame as a cycling city, Cambridge was the number-one location for cycle theft, with 1,747 instances between April 2020 and March 2021. With a student population of approximately 38,000, that equates to 0.046 thefts per student, or about one theft for every 22 students in the city.
Bristol was next on the list, with 1,612 thefts at an average of 0.0278 per student, or one theft for every 36 students.
The full top 10 list is shown below:
Town/city
Instances
Students
Thefts per student
Cambridge
1747
38000
0.0460
Bristol
1612
58055
0.0278
Oxford
1097
42810
0.0256
Leeds
1050
59620
0.0176
Birmingham
1013
67620
0.0150
Newcastle upon Tyne
796
56395
0.0141
Liverpool
770
54650
0.0141
Nottingham
618
70625
0.0088
Sheffield
458
61015
0.0075
Manchester
23
95405
0.0002
Total
9184
604195
0.0152
In addition to numbers of thefts recorded, the data was broken down by location of theft.
Of those thefts where the location was defined, “further/higher education building” was the second most frequent among the 10 towns and cities on the list, accounting for 18.6% of thefts.
“Parking area” was the most frequent, with 19.3%, and “supermarket” was third, with 14.8%.
Location
Instances
% of instances
Parking area
401
19.3%
Further/higher education building
386
18.6%
Supermarket
306
14.8%
Shopping area
294
14.2%
Hospital
144
6.9%
Sports/recreation area
143
6.9%
Nightclub
106
5.1%
Pedestrian subway
104
5.0%
Petrol station
98
4.7%
Theatre/concert hall
92
4.4%
Total
2074
100%
Out of the 9,184 total thefts, 4,150, or 45%, were recorded as having an investigation completed with no suspect identified. A further 4,661, or 51%, had no outcome status recorded, and only 13 (0.15%) resulted in a suspect being charged or cautioned.
Commenting on the figures, Georgina Cox, Cycling UK’s head of membership, said: “Cycling is a cheap, healthy and sustainable way for students to travel to and from university, but with thousands of bikes being stolen each year, it’s vital to take precautions. Joining Cycling UK directly supports our campaigning work and includes free third-party liability insurance and legal support, plus discounts on bike insurance with Yellow Jersey.”
Membership for students costs £2.54 per month, and if you join before 30 November you can receive a free Bike Register security marking kit worth £12.99.
Cycling UK’s website includes extensive advice on how to lock a bike securely as well as top tips for cycling at university.
Notes to editors
- Cycling UK, the UK’s cycling charity, imagines a world where the streets are free of congestion and the air is clean to breathe, where parents encourage their children to cycle to school and everyone shares the exhilaration of being in the saddle. For more than 140 years, we’ve been making our streets safer, opening up new traffic free routes and inspiring more people to cycle more often.
- Yellow Jersey insurance was launched in 2014 by three brothers who are active cyclists and triathletes. The company believes that cyclists want to be on the bike as much as possible, and dealing with insurance is probably the last thing on their mind. Yellow Jersey’s vision is give you more time to ride, by making insurance as easy and stress-free as possible.
- Cycling UK members get £50 off an annual Yellow Jersey policy.
Press contact information
For more information, please contact the national Cycling UK press office. Due to the restrictions caused by the coronavirus outbreak, currently the main press office number (01483 238 315) is not being monitored. If you would like to speak to a member of the press office during working hours (0900 - 1700) please call Rob Kingston on 07880 424 912 or email publicity@cyclinguk.org. Out of hours, call 07786 320 713