Security team get result on bike thefts
Imperial College Security officials are celebrating a massive reduction in campus bicycle thefts, following improved security vigilance and the arrest of a suspected thief before Christmas.
A man was arrested on 11 December after a fourth year Civil Engineering student noticed two people, a man and a woman, making "sawing movements" near bicycles in Dalby court, behind the Civil Engineering buildings. He immediately notified Sherfield security reception. The couple were identified and intercepted as they passed the Sherfield building as security officers were going to Dalby court to investigate, but refused to be detained. In the short struggle that followed, the man was apprehended while his female accomplice escaped. The police were called, and the man subsequently arrested.
According to the police, this man has previous convictions for theft. Security officers on duty at the time of the incident report that the suspect was carrying all the equipment necessary to steal a bike, including bolt cutters.
Upon his arrest, the man allegedly protested that he was only "making a metal sofa, and looking for scrap metal." Nevertheless, he has been charged with the offence of "going equipped to steal". The case will come to court during the next few weeks. If found guilty, the man will be sentenced according to his previous criminal record and individual circumstances. A man arrested for attempted theft last year in Weeks hall was sentenced to four months imprisonment.
Police later obtained a search warrant for the man’s house in North London and discovered he was living with a girl matching the description of his accomplice. However, no evidence exists linking her to the incident, and at present police have no plans to press charges.
This victory follows a number of improvements to South Kensington campus security measures. Foremost among these have been ‘plain clothes’ security patrols, which have been adopted as standard practice following their introduction shortly before Christmas. This and other measures have seen a drop in bicycle thefts from around eight per week to virtually none. No further bike thefts have been recorded since the end of January.
Security staff routinely remove bicycles from certain locations if they consider them to be causing an obstruction. IC security currently holds at least eight bikes removed from around the College which remain unclaimed by their owners. Security officials strongly recommend that students whose bikes are missing check with Sherfield reception before assuming them stolen.
Whilst highlighting their crackdown on bicycle theft, IC’s security service reiterated the difficulties inherent in maintaining vigilance given the size of the campus and the multitude of places that bikes are sometimes left. The plain clothes patrols continue, and officials hope that extra surveillance cameras will soon be in place.
