7 hours ago
Police told bike-theft victim they would only help in ‘life-or-death situation'
Police told the victim of a bike theft that they would only respond if it was a 'life-or-death situation'.
Marios Symeonides had his £5,000 bike stolen from outside his house in Camden, north London, on a Sunday afternoon despite it being secured with two £400 locks and a £120 GPS device.
Police did attend after a neighbour called 999, but then called inquiries off after just 20 minutes.
'My wife rang the police, who initially said they would only come if it was a life-and-death situation,' Mr Symeonides told The Times. 'It was only after I cycled off in pursuit that they called back and came because some neighbours had seen the thief cutting the lock and rang 999.'
A total of 33 bikes have been stolen in that part of Camden this year, according to police data analysed by The Telegraph. None of the thefts have been solved.
Nationally, fewer than one in 50 of the 60,000-plus annual bike thefts are ever solved. Vast areas of England and Wales did not see a single individual punished for such a theft last year.
Mr Symeonides followed the thief on a rented Lime e-bike while tracking the GPS on his phone. By the time police joined the pursuit, the thief was 20 minutes ahead and the chance to intercept was gone.
'Police were under time pressure, they had to go'
The bike was stolen at 12.27pm, but by 1.47pm the thief was in Queen's Park, Kilburn, nearly four miles away, according to the GPS.
When police and Mr Symeonides arrived in the 'nice neighbourhood' lined with terraced homes that sell for £900,000, the bike and the thief were nowhere to be seen.
Despite carrying out door knocks and looking into gardens, the police called time on the investigation after 20 minutes and handed Mr Symeonides a report and a number to follow up.
'I was hoping that the police would be able to get more CCTV because they have it everywhere now,' Mr Symeonides said. 'But they were under time pressure. They had to go.'
'Police numbers are falling rapidly'
On a Sunday afternoon in Camden, a popular tourist part of London, officers are restricted by the resources available and forced to prioritise which crimes to focus on, a spokesman told The Telegraph.
He said: 'We recognise the impact of bike theft and understand the disruption it causes for victims. Officers carry out patrols and operations across London and will carry out enquiries when offences are reported.
'On the day of the incident, the Met received around 250 calls relating to incidents in Camden, and we have to balance the demand for our services with the resources available. Officers visited the victim and carried out inquiries to attempt to locate the bike, including reviewing doorbell footage and tracking data.'
Last month, Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Police commissioner, said he did not have enough officers to meet rising demands.
'We're carrying the scar tissue of years of austerity cuts and the effects of that,' he said. 'Forces are much smaller when you compare the population they are policing than they were a decade or 15 years ago.
'Our numbers [of officers] are falling rapidly. London is over a million people bigger since then. Demand is going up 5 per cent a year, every year across the country. Five per cent more people are calling 999 looking for help from police. That's a massive number, and that compounds year on year.'
Despite continued searches and offers of assistance from fellow London cyclists online, Mr Symeonides is still without his bike. He received a payout for from his insurance, but claimed he had lost about £900 from the theft.
