'I tracked my stolen bike, but couldn't get it back'

When Alistair Brown found out where his stolen electric bike was, he thought it would be an open and shut case for police.

But despite using a tracking device to narrow down its location online to two flats in Oxford, he said officers seemed reluctant to take action.

"I got obstacles at every point, and 'no we can't come out now, we can't do this, can't really break in, can we?'," he said.

Thames Valley Police insisted officers followed "every lead" including searching addresses, reviewing CCTV and vehicle checks, but were unable to recover the bike.

The e-bike was worth about £2,000 and was taken from Mr Brown's flat in Headington earlier this year.

He said: "Whoever had gone there had pulled the bike shed apart, pulled the bike out with the lock and gone home with it.

"Now, I know Oxford was well known for its bike theft problems, so I had an AirTag [tracking device] on it.

"I thought I was being smart."

Mr Brown said the tracker showed him where his bike went and the whole journey it took to get there.

But he said when he called the police they did not immediately respond.

"They did finally send someone out that night, but they sort of just walked around with me saying 'oh yeah, I guess it's not here'," he said.

Mr Brown said the officer also told him: "We can't just go breaking into flats."

When stolen goods can be geolocated via a tracker, police still need a warrant to search a property.

That is about to change, with the Crime and Policing Bill giving officers the power to enter and search a property without a warrant, when stolen items have been electronically tracked.

Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber said he hoped the change in the law, going through Parliament at the moment, would speed up investigations.

"Often you might think well my my bike, my phone has been stolen - it's in that place," he said.

"But if there's a delay, often it can have moved on by the time the police get in there.

"So actually being able to act swiftly I think that change in the law will make a significant difference."

Thames Valley Police said it was also using a variety of methods to prevent bike theft.

Figures obtained by the BBC show reported thefts in Oxford in the past decade have trended downwards, from a peak in 2017 of 2,648, to 1252 last year.

A spokesperson for the force said: "We understand the frustration victims feel when bikes are stolen and will always thoroughly investigate any report of the crime.

"We also continually run prevention initiatives like bike marking, safety equipment giveaways and advice at community events.

"Campaigns such as Safer Streets have also boosted patrols and increased police presence in crime hotspots."

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