Following years of campaigning for measures to tackle bike thefts from St Albans City station, Daisy Cooper MP for St Albans, has secured three major improvements to combat this issue. These include:
- Improved security of the bike storage facility, including a “raptor” to stop thieves climbing over, after Daisy repeatedly pressed Thameslink to act.
- A government policy change to ensure CCTV on the rail network can be accessed by all relevant police forces to investigate bike thefts. This follows Daisy’s long-standing campaign for the government to make this change, including by proposing an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, asking parliamentary questions and writing to Ministers.
- British Transport Police scrapping their policy of only investigating thefts of bikes left out for under 2 hours or worth over £200, following national Liberal Democrat campaigning for tough action on bike thefts.
Daisy said:
“The message in St Albans is now clear: if you’re thinking of getting involved in a bike theft, get on your bike!
“The previous approach to investigating bike thefts was completely nonsensical: the secure bike storage area at St Albans City station was anything but, and disjointed CCTV networks were leaving police unable to access CCTV on the railway network to investigate incidents.
“After years of campaigning for action by Thameslink, British Transport Police, local police and Ministers, I’m so pleased that these security improvements and changes have finally been introduced. I will keep a very close eye on bike theft statistics to make sure that these changes translate into reality and that bike thieves know they can no longer get away with it.”
Daisy at the bike storage facility at St Albans City station with representatives from St Albans Police, Thameslink, and British Transport Police, in December 2024.