ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at strategy development and implementation in two projects. The first, based in Cambridge, aimed to reduce a high-volume, relatively low-impact crime problem – that of cycle theft. Cycle theft had been found to account for 20% of all crimes in Cambridge city centre. There were some 2,793 recorded thefts in the financial year 1998-99. Cycling is a major mode of transport in Cambridge and the number of secure stands was not meeting demand. Some stands were too old and proving inadequate in their design. Some were damaged, some were poorly installed. The population of Cambridge was thought to be tolerant of cycle crime, thinking of it as a normal part of life and as such was apathetic towards bike security. Offenders were generally believed to fall into three groups: joy-riders, who dump bikes after ‘borrowing’ them to get from A to B; acquisitive thieves, who take opportunities to steal in order to fund other habits; and volume offenders, who use vans to steal large numbers of bikes, possibly to order.
