Did you know that as many as 3,000 bikes are reported stolen each year in Winnipeg? While Winnipeg Police officers actively pursue bike thieves, bike theft prevention starts with the bike owner. The harder you can make it for someone to steal your bike, the less likely a thief will target it.
That’s why we are encouraged by the introduction of 529 Garage in Winnipeg, an easy and free way to register your bike.
Less searching, more finding
This new system empowers our officers to:
- Conduct on-the-street registry searches at any time and from any location.
- Return registered bikes to their rightful owners.
Bike data registered with 529 Garage is accessible by jurisdictions across the world. We will access users’ contact information from 529 Garage when attempting to return recovered bikes.
You can also purchase an optional shield decal directly from 529 Garage to let potential thieves know your bike is registered.
What if my bike has been stolen?
If your registered bicycle has been stolen, set an alert on 529 Garage and report it to the police by either:
Before making your report, have your bike’s serial number and any unique marks or engravings (unique to that individual bike, not a group of bikes) that will aid in matching your report to the bikes found.
Preventing bike theft
While the 529 Garage stickers may act as a deterrent and the easy-to-use registry facilitates the quick return of bikes to their rightful owners, there are still steps you can take to deter bike theft in the first place.