PC Dave Williamson and former partnerships liaison officer Ian Martin have been honoured for their work promoting a scheme which has slashed the number of bicycle thefts in County Durham and Darlington. Both have been awarded Chief Superintendent’s commendations for their roles with ‘Operation Spoke’, an initiative developed three years ago as a response to the soaring number of bike thefts. Ian, who recently retired and Dave, who is based at Barnard Castle have dedicated many hours to ensure the Durham Constabulary initiative has become a shining example nationally of ‘best practice’.
They also received a national award recently at the 2016 ‘Cycle Crime’ conference, for the development of a bespoke bike register frame and component marking kit. There are now over 10,000 bikes registered through the Durham Constabulary scheme. The kit comprises a UV etch kit, microdots, tamper proof label and warning sticker. The UV etch has the advantage of being difficult for a thief to see and remove, and is not too obtrusive to affect the look of a valuable bike.
The microdots help protect the bicycle further and the component parts. The tamper evident label and warning stickers offer a visible deterrent to the would-be thief. Using the kit has helped bring about a 25% reduction in bicycle crime in the last 24 months.
IN PHOTO:Dave (centre) and Ian (right) pictured with Chief Supt. Paul Beddow, who presented them with their commendations
