Registration app leads to significant decrease in bike thefts in Vancouver

Bike thefts are way down in Vancouver, and part of the reason is a registration app, according to a report in the Vancouver Sun. Rob Brunt, a seasoned Vancouver police veteran who retired a year ago, continues to contribute his expertise as a volunteer with the police force’s bike-theft team. He spoke to the Sun inside a police building which houses stolen bikes. He says a few years back, that same building would be packed.

Lack of standardized serial numbers made it tricky to locate stolen bikes

According to Brunt, there are a few factors that contributed to the low rate of bike recoveries. One of the main reasons is the absence of standardized serial numbers, making it as very difficult to locate a specific bike

In 2015, he visited the building and was blown away at how many stolen bikes there were, and how few were ever recovered. “I was like, ‘Wow, we’re doing great work (retrieving stolen bikes) … but most bikes weren’t getting back to their owners,” he said. to the Sun. “There was no system,” he adds. “So we didn’t know, but maybe two per cent of the bicycles got returned.”

Registering bikes is more streamlined with Project 529

Brunt came across a solution called Project 529, an anti-theft software that seemed tailor-made for implementation. The brainchild of J Allard, a former Microsoft executive known for creating Xbox, the program caught Brunt’s attention as a promising tool to combat bike theft.

Registering bikes online with Project 529 is a simple and free process. By taking a few photos from different angles, as well as marking down your bike’s serial number, you can securely store youe bike’s information. The data is then accessible to over 400 law enforcement agencies worldwide, while ensuring the user’s anonymity, except for an email address.

Since Brunt initiated the program, Vancouver has experienced a consistent decline in bike thefts, amounting to an impressive 52 percent reduction overall. Prior to implementing Project 529, bike thefts in the city had surged from approximately 1,500 cases annually in 2011 to 4,000 cases by 2015. The Vancouver Police Department had projected this number to rise to 6,000 cases per year if not for the introduction of Project 529.