BICYCLE THEFT

Virtually everybody in Denmark owns a bicycle. It's a very bike-friendly country, with lots of cycle paths, traffic lights and other infrastructure. Many people in the big cities commute to work on their bike. And in rural areas, people cycle to the bus stop and leave their bike there in special bike racks, ready for when they come back again.

If everybody already owns a bike, then what is the point in stealing one? But stolen they are. Last year the police recorded more than 71,000 bicycle thefts, which cost the insurance industry more than kr.200 million. Yet almost nobody ever gets caught or prosecuted for the offence. There were less than 300 convictions in 2010, a clean-up rate of just 0.39%. The police admit that it is not one of their highest priorities, and who can blame them?

That still leaves the question of what happens to all these bikes. My guess is that they are hoovered up and taken out of the country. But I have no way of knowing.

Walter Blotscher