A “bike bait” unit should be set up in the National Crime Agency to catch bicycle thieves, the Liberal Democrats have said.

The party has argued that the dedicated team could work with local police forces to place bikes, fitted with trackers, in theft hotspots enabling officers to trace thieves and gather evidence about wider criminal networks.

It has cited Home Office data showing that across England and Wales 86% of bike thefts went unsolved between March 2024 and March 2025.

A Home Office spokesperson said plans for 3,000 new neighbourhood police officers would help stop bike thieves, who have been getting away with their crimes “for far too long”.

Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said: “Every single day, thousands of victims are denied the justice they deserve… the government cannot afford to dither and delay, they must crack down on unsolved crimes.”

In almost two thirds of police forces, more than 80% of cases went unsolved with the figure rising to over 90% for the British Transport Police, Met Police and Sussex Police, the Home Office data shows.

To reduce the number of bike thefts, the Lib Dems want the National Crime Agency to help local forces carry out “bait” operations and use the information to “build a national picture of bike theft”.

In the past, some police forces have been able to use these tactics to retrieve stolen bikes and convict offenders.

In 2024, ITV News reported that City of London Police officers were able to follow a tracked bait bike which led them to a warehouse where around £130,000 stolen bicycles were being stored.

In the three months after arrests were made, thefts in the area fell by 90%.

In 2012, police in Cambridge set up a fake second-hand bike shop to recover stolen bikes, leading to a 25% fall in thefts and the conviction of 20 bike thieves.

Duncan Dollimore, Head of Campaigns at Cycling UK, said: “The idea to target bike theft and the wider criminal networks that treat it like a business is a strong one.

“With so many stolen bikes being re-sold through online platforms, we know full well that targeting these groups can significantly reduce theft.”

Earlier this month, the British Transport Police said it would not investigate bike thefts outside stations where the bicycle had been left for more than two hours.

This led to accusations that the police force was “decriminalising” bike theft.

The BTP said: “The more time our officers spend reviewing CCTV… the less time they have available for patrolling railway stations and trains, investigating crimes which cause the most harm.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “For far too long bike thieves have brazenly got away with their crimes.

“We are committed to ensuring victims feel safe in the knowledge their bikes are safe, but also that perpetrators of these crimes will be found and brought to justice.”