A NEW app has been launched to help police officers investigate bike thefts in Ayrshire and beyond and return lost and stolen cycles to their rightful owners.

Since early December, all frontline officers have been able to upload the Bike Register database app to their mobile devices, providing them with a comprehensive list of all bikes registered throughout the country.

The app allows any police officer the opportunity to run the VIN number of any bike they locate to establish who the real owner is.

Police Scotland and Bike Register have worked together for several years and policing teams across the country have undertaken bike marking and registration events across Scotland where they encourage cyclists to register their bikes on the database.

With Christmas and New Year coming up, anyone who purchases or receives a new bike, either for recreation, fitness or commuting, is urged to ensure they upload their details to the Bike Register database to help ensure police can return it in the event of it becoming lost or being stolen.

Sergeant Carly Bryce from Police Scotland’s acquisitive crime team said: “Our partnership with Bike Register has been really successful over the years, allowing us to help the public mark and register their bikes, but up until recently whenever we came across a potentially lost or stolen cycle, we would have to contact Bike Register directly and get them to check if the bike was on the database.

“Thanks to the development of the app for police mobile devices, we can instantaneously carry out a check ourselves and if the bike is registered and found to be in the possession of someone who is not the owner, we can respond swiftly and appropriately.

“We know that bikes are an expensive commodity and the last thing anyone wants to think about it their valued present, training equipment or mode of transport being lost or stolen, but should such an issue arise, it’s really important that the bike is registered on the database.

“You can do so by visiting bikeregister.com.”