BICYCLE STEALING,

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIV, Issue 3, 5 January 1910, Page 5

BICYCLE STEALING.

CHRISTCHTJRCIH POLICE

RECORDS,

£4000 WORTH STOLEN LAST

YEAR.

[press association.]

CHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 5

The flatness of Christchurch and ! most of Canterbury suits cyclists -excellently, and about 30^000 of-/these; machines daily use the city^ i The" police records show that during 19(19 upwards of 400 bicycles were reported "stolen" in Christchurch alone. The machines ranged in value from £5 to £25, and taking an average: value of £10 this means that £4000 worth of bicycles were misappropriated^ »,,'.,..■ The proportion of convictions for theft to the nunlber of Tricycles reported stolen has been very small, owing to the fact that a person who steals a Tbicycle in Christchurch "srely retains it in his possession for riore than a very brief period, preferring to leave it somewhere in the vfcreets or in a paddock rather than run the .risk .of a criminal prosecution. Thus more than half the stolen bicycles have 'been returned to the .owners, sometimes within a few, days >: x>f the theft, and sometimes not for some consider able«time.'