Submitted by Mike Grenville on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:02

A system that combines a motion detector and SMS is being used to deter and catch bicycle thieves in Portsmouth.

According to Home Office statistics, a bike is stolen every 71 seconds with the top three crime spots in Britain being Central London, Kingston-upon Thames and Cambridge. With more people cycling, bike theft could be set to rise.

A Cycle Monitoring System using SOS Response's Wireless Asset Security Protection (WASP) allows owners to lock up their bikes in CCTV-controlled secure areas at railway stations, campuses, and town centres. When the system was piloted in Portsmouth last October through December, bike crime was reduced by 90 per cent.

When the bicycle owner locks up their bicycle they send a text to a security office to trigger the system to guard it. Then if someone then moves, or tries to move the bicycle, a sensor in the lock emits a silent alarm which triggers a CCTV camera to zoom in and take a picture.

The sensor also sends an alarm to security staff and flashes up live images from the camera on to their monitors. A security guard can then be sent to investigate. If the thief is able to leave the crime scene before the officer arrives, the images can be used as evidence for a successful prosecution.

SOS Response developed the WASP security system for bikes in partnership with Hampshire Constabulary and the University of Portsmouth. It combines miniaturised electronics, RFID technology, CCTV.

University police officer PC Dave Fairbrother (pictured) who came up with the idea said “Bicycle theft is a huge problem and in the past it was often luck if a bicycle thief was caught. The CCTV cameras could be pointing the wrong way, for example. “But with this technology we will always be watching and any attempted thefts of locked bicycles will result in the thief being captured on camera. “The motion sensor lock will also act as a deterrent.

Following the successful pilot, the WASP system is to be rolled out nationwide and extended to include motor bikes and scooters with Mediaburst's text interface platform being the system's communications hub.