Event held to help prevent Chesterfield pupils from becoming victims of bicycle theft

PC Carl Davies and PCSO Alex Jones marking bikes for the safer streets bike marking at Spire Junior School

Spire Junior School hosted the event on Wednesday, October 20, to help prevent its pupils from becoming victims of bicycle theft.

It saw dozens of children have their bikes fitted with a security chain, lights, and reflectors, and marked with a bike marking kit to allow for their details to be added to the BikeRegister national database and make it easier for police to return them to their rightful owner should they ever be stolen.

The event was held in partnership with Chesterfield Borough Council and Derbyshire police as part of an iniative that has been running for the past year.

Charlotte Vernon, assistant headteacher at Spire Junior School, said: “We’ve been developing links with our local police community and they’ve been coming in since last year, into our assemblies and to work with us.

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"As part of that iniative and developing the community, they offered to come in and make the bikes more road safe and bring some awareness.

"We let all our parents know and those who have taken us up on the offer came out with their bikes. We had about 15 from each class, a couple classes were a bit less, but it was open to the whole school."

Spire Junior School is currently working Chesterfield Borough Council community safety officer, Jess Maidens, who has been granted a sum of money to invest into community crime prevention measures, otherwise known as target hardening.

Mrs Vernon said a number of Spire Junior pupils ride their bikes to and from school – making bike safety a key aspect of this spend.

Posting on Facebook after the event, the Hasland, Holmebrook and Walton Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “Chesterfield south SNT were working with Spire Junior school and Chesterfield Borough Council doing a bike marking event this afternoon.

"We had over 80 bikes brought to us to mark over the course of the afternoon! Bike marking provides bike security and helps the police identify legitimate owners of bikes that have been stolen or are being resold.”

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