Toulouse: nearly 3,400 bikes stolen in 2020, we tell you where the scourge strikes the most
In 2020, despite the confinements, the number of bicycle thefts increased by 2% compared to 2019. In Toulouse, Colomiers, Blagnac and Tournefeuille, 3,368 bicycles were declared stolen from the national police, against 3,315 in 2019. La share of electrically-assisted bicycles increased from 10% to 14% of total bicycles stolen.
Despite confinements and other curfews, the scourge of bicycle theft has not ceased in 2020. According to figures from the Toulouse Urban Planning Agency (AUaT), in its first Observatory of cycling , ordered by Tisséo and unveiled at the end of September, 3,368 bikes were reported stolen last year.
Compared to 2019, the figure is up 2% (3,315 in 2019). And again, it corresponds to the number of complaints recorded by the national police, in the municipalities of Toulouse, Colomiers, Blagnac and Tournefeuille. It therefore does not reflect reality, since we are not talking at the national level, that “half of stolen bikes are the subject of a complaint,” notes the AUaT.
Electrically assisted bicycles, which today account for nearly a quarter of sales and cost on average two to three times more than a conventional bicycle, are very popular with thieves. In 2019, one in ten stolen bikes was an electric bike. In 2020, the proportion is one in seven bikes …
No more flagrant crimes with CCTV cameras
Contrary to popular belief, parking your bike at home or in a private yard does not prevent yourself from theft. Almost half of the bicycles (45%) were stolen in a private space: home, private yard, landing.
“Bicycle theft is a real scourge in all metropolises, and we have implemented several solutions to try to remedy it”, explains Maxime Boyer, vice-president of Toulouse Métropole in charge of the file. First advice, given in the information documents of the city, distributed to the general public, awareness of attachment techniques: two locks rather than one, never leave your bike loose, etc. of a business believing that we have it for 5 minutes, it is almost giving it to the thief ”. “To further raise awareness among Toulouse residents, the city will install signs near the most interesting bicycle parks, and make more hoops available”, adds the elected official.
5 months and 18 months in prison for thieves in court, in October
“Innovation is also part of the arsenal, since the Maison du Vélo, an association assisted by the town hall, experimented with GPS trackers in its bikes at the start of the year. The marking of the bikes and their registration in a file sent to the police, allow the bike to be returned to its owner, if it is found. The development of closed and secure car parks, inside underground car parks, is being discussed with the operators. The municipal police, for their part, use the 454 video surveillance cameras to catch thieves in the act.
The national police and the gendarmerie have carried out two pretty “shots of the net” in recent weeks. A Toulouse resident who flew in Tisséo bicycle parks was sentenced to 5 months closed on October 11. Specialists in the theft of electric bicycles, repeat offenders, had them sentenced to 18 months in prison, a few days earlier.
Toulouse: the outlying districts not spared by thefts
The Toulouse hypercentre is paying the heaviest price for the phenomenon of bicycle theft, with 812 thefts reported in 2020, or nearly a quarter of the total (3,368). The Saint-Cyprien, Saint-Georges and Capitole districts saw their number of flights increase, when Arnaud-Bernard and Saint-Aubin stagnate or fall. Among the outlying districts, the increase is more marked in the east of the city: thefts increased in Jolimont (+ 19%), Ormeau (+33%). Montaudran, La Terrasse and Guilheméry are not spared. On the other hand, the Mirail recorded fewer thefts (-32%), undoubtedly the consequence of the prolonged closure of the university, during the health crisis. On the outskirts of Toulouse, the city of Blagnac recorded a marked increase in the number of stolen bikes (+66), while in Colomiers (-19%) and Tournefeuille (-32%), the phenomenon subsided in 2020.