Nanaimo RCMP are promoting a bicycle registration system they say helps police recover and return hundreds of stolen bikes every year.
Nanaimo RCMP Community Policing and the Nanaimo Area Cycling Coalition, ambassadors for the Garage 529 program, will be hosting a series of bike registration days this summer and fall.
According to a police press release, in 2024, the Nanaimo RCMP received 110 reports of bike thefts, a nine-per cent increase from 2023. Police can rarely prevent bikes from being stolen, but Project Garage 529, the fastest-growing bike registration system with more than one million bikes in its searchable database accessible to police departments across the Canada, helps police recovery and return hundreds of bikes each year.
“Having your bike stolen hurts, and not just your wallet,” said Const. Sherri Wade, Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson, in a press release. “Most bike owners chose their bikes carefully, maintained it regularly and relied on it for exercise and adventure.”
A bike registration station will be set up at Maffeo Sutton Park during Canada Day celebrations July 1 from 10 a.m-3 p.m., and will then be set up outside the Nanaimo RCMP detachment building on July 5, Aug. 2, Sept. 6 and Oct. 4 from 10 a.m.-noon.
