By Spencer Sterritt

Nanaimo RCMP boosting Project 529 to help recover and return stolen bikes

Aug 30, 2018 | 5:32 PM

NANAIMO — With roughly a dozen bikes being stolen a week from the mid-island area, Nanaimo RCMP are hoping to curb the high number of thefts and return bikes to their owners.

They’re hosting a Project 529 registration event on Friday, Aug. 31 at Westwood Lake from 1 to 5 p.m. Project 529 is an app where owners register their bikes with key details which then helps police officers and other cyclists recognize, recover and return bicycles to their rightful owners.

Community policing officer Dave Cusson told NanaimoNewsNOW the app has helped him return bikes even after the owner had lost hope.

“I just had a fellow who reported his bike stolen a year ago,” Cusson said. “It got matched on the 529 platform and he’s just thrilled. He said ‘I never thought I’d see my bike again’ and it was an expensive bike.”

Cusson said the RCMP warehouse is full of bikes, many of which are fairly expensive.

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“I can’t get (the bike) back to the owner and that’s tough. Not everyone can afford to replace a $1,000 bike that easily.”

In Nanaimo, statistics show there’s roughly five to six bikes reported stolen a week, with many others stolen but never brought to the police’s attention.

Those who register their bike on Friday will also receive a Project 529 sticker for their bikes, which will hopefully deter thieves and reduce the number of bike thefts.

Project 529 has existed for several years.

Cusson said the local cyclist community has enthusiastically received and promoted it, though much work still needs to be done in the larger community. He said posts about stolen or recovered bikes often still circulate through online forums, such as a post about a 15-year-old who’s brand new bike was recently stolen and bought back from someone living in Nanaimo’s tent city.

“I’m starting to see people ask if bikes were registered with Project 529, but I want to really increase that knowledge and get momentum going,” Cusson said.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit