Bikmo today launched an interactive bicycle theft tracking heatmap that combines police and population data to find the best and worst areas for bicycle theft in England and Wales in 2020.

The aggregated data confirms that 74,573 bicycles were reported stolen across both countries, down from 83,536 in 2019.

The free tool, available to all, highlights hotspots where bicycle thefts were reported throughout the year.

Bikmo divides the raw data into 10 regions, nine of which are spread across England, with Wales considered a region in its own right. The Greater London region ranked worst, with 492.24 thefts per 100,000 people, more than double the number of thefts in the second place, Eastern England.

In fact, Greater London had more thefts per capita than the North West, Wales, West Midlands, South West, East Midlands, and North East combined.

The COVID-19 craze has led to a boom in cycling, and the number of people riding two-wheeled vehicles has increased dramatically over the past year. However, data show that the total number of reported bicycle thefts declined year over year. Despite a spike in thefts in the early months, lockdowns appear to be one of the laws that bicycle thieves abide by, as the total number dropped by 11%.

Bikmo has committed to continually updating the tool, allowing the growing community of cyclists to continuously identify hot spots in their area.

"New tools will be updated regularly to provide an ongoing resource for the public," explains David George, CEO of Bikmo. 'We hope it will be useful to the burgeoning number of riders and help raise awareness in high-risk areas.'

However, this data is not without question. However, Bikmo has publicly stated that the data for this area is likely skewed because the Greater Manchester Police Department does not report 80,000 (open in new tab) crimes throughout the year.

Consequently, looking more closely, four of the top five safest neighborhoods are located in the Northwest, including Salford and Manchester City. The safest region outside of this area is West Devon, with just 7 thefts per 100,000 people, closely followed by Torridge, also in Devon, with 9, and Ceredigion, Wales, with 11.

Not surprisingly, the worst areas are within the Greater London area. The City of London recorded 6,345 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants, more than four times the rate of second-place Cambridge. Coincidentally, despite being the second worst region, Cambridge had 6,950 fewer thefts than in 2019, down 554% from the previous year.

Despite the year-over-year decrease in thefts, the number of motorcycles on the road has increased, and thefts will likely increase once the country reopens and normal life resumes. To reduce the likelihood that your prized bike will end up in someone else's possession, be knowledgeable and have the right tools.

Refer first to our guide on how to prevent bicycle theft, and if you lock your bike in public, it is essential to know how to properly lock your bike and use the best bike lock for the job.

And if you want to take a comprehensive approach, the best bicycle GPS trackers can help you get your bicycle back if it should fall into the wrong hands.