More bikes were stolen in Southwark than in almost any other London borough over the past year.
Some 1,918 bicycles were stolen in the borough between March 2021 and April 2022, behind only Tower Hamlets, where 2.072 bikes were stolen, according to an analysis of Met Police data. Hackney, Westminster and Camden completed the top five. Southwark was third for bike thefts over the previous twelve month period from March 2020 to April 2021, behind Hackney and Tower Hamlets.
The north of the borough was the worst area for bike theft over the past year. Broken down by ‘safer neighbourhood’ area, which correspond roughly to council wards, there were 317 bike thefts in London Bridge and West Bermondsey – the joint highest in the whole of London, along with Hammersmith Broadway in west London.
Some 277 bikes were stolen in Borough and Bankside, as well as 123 in Rotherhithe and 112 in North Bermondsey.
People in North Walworth had 104 bikes stolen, with 103 taken illegally in both the Rye Lane area and Goose Green in East Dulwich. Some 97 bikes were stolen in the area around the Old Kent Road.
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Dulwich Wood, the furthest south area recorded in the borough, saw the fewest bikes stolen over the year, with just seven taken. Other low areas included Peckham Rye, with fifteen, Dulwich Hill with nineteen, and Nunhead and Queen’s Road with 23.
The number of thefts dropped over the past year compared to the previous twelve months, but the hotspots remained roughly the same. London Bridge and West Bermondsey saw 338 bike thefts from March 2020 to April 2021, again one of the highest in London. Borough and Bankside had 305 offences, with Rotherhithe reporting 202, Old Kent Road 113 and North Bermondsey 97.
Dulwich Wood saw just nineteen bikes stolen over the same period. Peckham Rye had twenty and Champion Hill had 30.
Southwark has the highest waiting list for bike hangars – which allow cyclists to park their bike securely on the street – out of any London borough. Around 8,500 cyclists in Southwark are currently waiting for a safe space to store their bicycles.