With new bicycles on top of many people’s Christmas wish-lists last year, Victoria Police is urging cyclists to have their licence numbers engraved.

Police members will offer a free engraving service at Federation Square on Tuesday 31 January 2006 between the hours of 7am and 7pm.

Senior Constable Emma Green of the Melbourne Bicycle Squad said engraving bikes with licence numbers dramatically increased the likelihood of a bike being returned to its rightful owner.

“While having a bike engraved doesn’t stop a bike being stolen, it greatly assists in getting the bike back to the owner if it was stolen and recovered,” Senior Constable Green said.

“By offering this free service and encouraging people to take proactive steps in relation to their property, we can greatly increase the chance of stolen property being returned in the unfortunate event of a theft.”

Senior Constable Green said she was looking forward to engaging with other cyclists on Tuesday.

“We’re hoping a lot of people can make it down to Federation Square throughout the day to get their bikes engraved and have a chat with us to see what other safety tips we can pass on.”

For those who cannot make it to Federation Square on Tuesday, local police stations offer a free bike engraving service.

Kitty Walker
Media Officer