Fife Lib Dems reveal criminals getting a free ride as bike thefts soar to 461

Fife Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Councillor for Dunfermline South James Calder has today criticised the Scottish Government for “giving criminals a free ride” as they revealed that there have been 461 thefts in Fife in just three years.

A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request to Police Scotland has uncovered that there were 461 reports of bike thefts in the last three years, but only 105 of these crimes led to criminal proceedings.

James Calder said:

It looks like criminals are getting a free ride under the SNP and Greens.

Bike thefts are disruptive and distressing for victims in Fife and the vanishing chance of ever seeing the thief caught or punished simply makes that worse. It’s unsurprising given how overstretched and underfunded the police are under the SNP.

Figures like these will see people across Fife pause for thought before making journeys by bike, and that’s bad news at a time when we should be doing all we can to support active travel.

Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to invest in secure cycle storage, to encourage people to register their bikes with the national cycle database, and to give police the resources they need to do the job.