We've made a detailed map of bike theft in London

Use it to find the worst hotspots near your home or place of work

Illustration by @cllmrolodex

Afternoon — bike theft is a fact of life in London. Still, seeing the sheer scale of it all can be shocking. As our new explorable map of 15,000 bike thefts from the past year demonstrates.

Using crime report data published by police, we’ve basically created a detailed guide to the places you should really think twice about before locking up.

Central London is predictably dire — but there are bike theft hotspots everywhere in the capital. Whether it’s on the Southbank, or next to Clissold Leisure Centre, our map makes it easy to see where thieves are targeting.

And we’ve not only compiled individual bike theft reports, which you can see by zooming in to hotspots. We’ve also had a stab at adjusting things for the local bike population, using the latest census data. This alternative view lets you see how many bike thefts there have been roughly relative to how many bikes are about in a given area.

We’ve spent some time polishing it all up, so it should work properly both on your phone and on your laptop. But if you spot any bugs, or have some general feedback, get in touch at londonspy@substack.com.

And if you want to help us build more special projects like these, then please consider becoming a paid Spy subscriber. You can sign up using the button below.

Good luck out there 🚲

The Spy team