“GPS trackers provide immense added value for police work. They help detect criminal offences and find stolen electric bikes,” states theft victim Fabian M.*, himself a policeman. “Once such systems become established and thieves realise that bikes are protected, thefts can be prevented before they even happen,” affirms a convinced Fabian.

Fabian first fell victim to theft at his home in the Düsseldorf’s Friedrichstadt district in April. The moment he noticed his e-bike was no longer parked where he had left it, he immediately reported the theft to the IT’S MY BIKE team. Since Fabian’s bike was subsequently located very close to the scene of the crime, Fabian began looking for it himself, quickly spotting it beside a footpath. “The thief must have injured himself because there were traces of blood on the frame. He obviously had difficulty carrying the well-secured bike away,” he surmises. “I had fastened it with four different locks.” He contacted his colleagues at the local police station, who took down the details but were unfortunately unable to identify the perpetrator.

Exactly six months later, misfortune struck again with a similar incident: Fabian had parked his bike in his building’s stairway as he was about to use it again. By the time he noticed it was gone, the cargo bike was already been spirited away to Düsseldorf’s Flingern-Süd district, as indicated by the GPS position. The victim notified the police and the IT’S MY BIKE team once more.

“The thief had hidden the cargo bike in a basement. A smart lock was emitting acoustic signals, which allowed us to identify the right basement,” explains a pleased Sebastian Stoll, who helped with police work as part of the IT’S MY BIKE team. The officers not only found the e-bike they were seeking in the basement but also other objects, which had possibly been stolen.

Fabian was relieved to get his bike back again, albeit slightly damaged. The thieves had removed the pannier rack and tried to scratch off the IT’S MY BIKE GPS tracked sticker. “I now almost always park my e-bike inside my apartment,” he concludes, having learned his lesson in 2020.

*Name has been changed

Image: Symbolbild / Adobe Stock