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Railway bicycle theft hotspots revealed

In August 2019 the BBC Shared Data Unit reported railway stations serving London's commuter belt remained a prime target for bike thieves.

Across Great Britain, theft of bicycles from station property rose from 4,500 in 2016-17 to 6,400 last year, a rise of around 42%.

Campaigners and victims said more investment was needed to reduce this "low-risk, high-reward crime".

The Department for Transport said it wanted to improve security and install more CCTV to keep bikes safe.

The BBC's Shared Data Unit analysed crime data from British Transport Police and footfall figures from the Office of Rail Regulation and Transport for London.

It found:

  • Some 16,725 bikes had been stolen from 1,245 railway and London Underground stations from 2016-2019.
  • Many of the stations with the most thefts were located in London and the South East

This piece of content was produced by a regional newspaper reporter working alongside BBC staff.

The Shared Data Unit makes data journalism available to news organisations across the media industry, as part of a partnership between the BBC and the News Media Association. Stories generated by the partnership included:

The story was also used by Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire), BBC Coventry & Warwickshire, BBC Radio Cornwall, BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Radio Lincolnshire, BBC Surrey, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, BBC Hereford & Worcester, BBC Sussex, BBC Radio Oxford, BBC Berkshire, BBC Wiltshire and BBC Radio Kent

Visualisation

  • Video: Tips of how to keep your bike safe at train stations and ways of locking it securely
  • Bar chart: Railway stations with the most bicycle thefts
  • Bar chart: Railway stations with most thefts per passenger

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Background and briefing