We’ve been alerted by a concerned resident that there have been a number of bicycle thefts in the neighbourhood recently. Beyond opportunistic stealing of unsecured bicycles, it seems that the thieves are better equipped and are targetting higher-value bicycles. We had heard of one other theft near Wellesley Street East and Sumach Street as well as the ones noted below.
Here is the resident’s note:
“There’s been a dramatic increase or rash of bike thefts in Cabbagetown in recent weeks with thieves concentrating on higher value bikes and using advanced skills to break heavy duty Krytonite forged u-bar locks in order to steal the bikes.
Over the past week 2 hybrid bikes were stolen from the city bike posts at the south east entrance to Riverdale Park west (corner of Sumach & Carlton) and a custom cruiser bike was stolen from a backyard on Sumach Street near Winchester. We saw an amateur video taken of a bike thief riding a bike just stolen from and Ontario street residence circulating as well.
Reports were filed with police but it would be helpful if the division police office and the community at large were alerted to this recent rise or spike in bike theft in Cabbagetown.”
We encourage residents to report all thefts to Toronto Police, and as a preventative measure to register your bicycle with the police in case it is later recovered. A determined thief will probably find a way to take just about anything, but locking up your bicycle (even in a locked shed) with a good quality lock can deter a less determined person.
Toronto Police Non-Emergency Line: (416) 808-2222
Toronto Police CORE (Citizen Online Report Entry)
Toronto Police Bicycle Registration Form
UPDATE JULY 15, 2016:
It’s not clear if it’s related but a local kindly purchased a bicycle at 11 p.m. on July 14 with the intention of returning it to its rightful owner. View pictures of the bicycle, and respond to the person on this Facebook post (if you don’t have a Facebook account to respond with, let us know and we’ll help co-ordinate for you).