MONTREAL, May 1, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), the City of Montreal and its Tandem offices, the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), Vélo-Québec and the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) joined forces and today launched a prevention campaign entitled Bien verrouiller, c'est important! (Lock it. It's important), targeting bicycle theft.
More than 3,000 posters will be put up around the city.
"A colourful poster aimed at capturing the attention of cyclists about properly locking their bikes will be put up by Tandem offices close to bike racks, metro stations, schools, parks and libraries," explained Serge Doucet, Director of Tandem Mercier - Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
A campaign is also planned to put up posters inside restaurants, cafes, movie theatres, librairies, Maisons de la culture, Maison des cyclistes and bike stores in Montreal, as well as in neighborhood police stations in Montreal. The code QR on the poster directs readers to a page on infoinsurance.ca, IBC's web site, which offers prevention advice on bicycle theft. Lastly, a wallet-size information card will be distributed to participants at major cycling events, including the Féria du vélo, which takes place this coming June 2.
All the partners will promote the campaign on their web sites and use the communications tools at their disposal.
Every year, some 2,000 bicycles are reported stolen to the SPVM in Montreal.
Every year, nearly 2,000 bicycles are stolen in Montreal. The sectors most affected are the Plateau Mont-Royal and university campuses. A McGill study revealed that 51% of cyclists have had their bicycles stolen at least once, with the vast majority not reporting the theft to the police. The study recommended increasing the number of secure bicycle racks, such as the black posts with a ring which are already installed in downtown Montreal.
The Committee on Bicycle Theft noted that Project Numéro, which recommends getting bikes engraved at neighborhood police stations, will be active again this year. Once the bicycle is engraved, the police enter the data in an in-house SPVM register that all police can access. Thus, when an engraved bicycle is found, it is possible to quickly locate the owner and return it.
"So far, neighborhood police stations, in collaboration with Tandem and Sun Youth, have engraved close to 5,000 bicycles on the island of Montreal. We are very proud of the results and want this to continue", noted Alain Gagnon, Inspector and Head of the Plateau Mont-Royal Sud police station.
Keep your invoice and inventory your belongings
In addition to engraving their bikes, IBC recommends that consumers write down the serial number when they buy a bicycle. IBC also encourages consumers to make an inventory of their belongings using a document that is available on infoinsurance.ca. "We believe that awareness plays a key role in theft prevention, and this, in all its forms. By making one's bicycle less attractive to a thief or reseller, we can prevent the worry we unfortunately experience when something we value is stolen," added Anne Morin, Supervisor, Public Affairs, at IBC.
About the Committee on Bicycle Theft
Created in 2011 by Marc-André Gadoury, city councillor for the district of Étienne-Desmarteau, following a request from a citizen, the Committee on Bicycle Theft has eight members, including the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), Tandem, Vélo-Québec, Transportation Research at McGill (TRAM), a retailer and a City of Montreal citizen, and Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). The Committee meets four times a year to find solutions to the issue of bicycle theft in Montreal.
Image with caption: "Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), the City of Montreal and its Tandem offices, the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), Vélo-Québec and the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) joined forces and today launched a prevention campaign entitled Bien verrouiller, c'est important! (Lock it. It's important), targeting bicycle theft. (CNW Group/Committee on Bicycle Theft in Montreal) (CNW Group/Committee on Bicycle Theft)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130501_C2265_PHOTO_EN_26212.jpg
SOURCE: Committee on Bicycle Theft
Julie Bellemare
Public Affairs Consultant
Tel.: 514-288-1563 ext. 232
Cell.: 514-953-0828
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