NCJ Number
227506
Journal
European Journal of Criminology Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2009 Pages: 267-286
Date Published
May 2009
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article reports on two studies conducted in England that examined how cyclists parked their bicycles in public places and whether a simple educational strategy might encourage them to lock their bikes more securely.
Abstract
In both areas studied, the use of stickers that provide information on how to lock a bicycle securely produced statistically significant improvements in the locking practice of cyclists. Thus, even a simple and inexpensive public information strategy, when appropriately targeted can influence cyclists' locking practices, so as to deter bicycle theft. The results of the first study, which was conducted across five sites in central London, showed a statistically significant reduction in "bad" locking practices and increases in both "good" and "ok" locking practices at those sites where the intervention was conducted. No changes in locking practices were observed at the control site that did not have the intervention. The second study was conducted in Brighton, England, and involved a replication of the first study. Similar results were observed. The intervention for both studies was the use of a sticker placed on cycle parking racks. The sticker displayed a short advisory and an illustration of a secure method for locking a bicycle. Observational methods were used to determine the impact of the intervention, as it offered data on how cyclists locked their bicycles with and without the intervention. A recording sheet was constructed, so that field researchers could systematically log information on how bicycles were locked. 3 figures and 55 references