CCTV operators reassure cyclists over bike thefts at West Midlands bus and railway stations
CCTV operators in the West Midlands have reassured cyclists who leave their bikes at bus and rail stations they will continue to report thefts to police.
Concerns have been raised by members of the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA) Transport Delivery Overview and Scrutiny Committee about the drop in numbers of people leaving their vehicles at transport hubs.
One possible fear raised was an announcement in 2025 of a British Transport Police policy not to investigate thefts of bikes parked for more than two hours.
Following a public backlash, this policy was reversed earlier this year with the force saying investigations will be carried out if the bicycle can be identified by CCTV or if there is a witness.
Kerry Blakeman, Head of Security & Policing for Transport for West Midlands, told the committee his team in the WMCA CCTV control room capture hundreds of incidents on camera every month.
Data shows the number of cycle parking counts at bus and rail stations fell from 785 during Quarter Three (October, November, December) of 2024/25 to 629 in the same period in 2025/26.
He said: “We have significant investment in CCTV. Every month we are capturing 600 incidents, 47 per cent of those are captured by my team in terms of active monitoring.
“My stance is absolutely clear. Where we spot individuals acting suspiciously in any of our cycle hubs, we contact the police.
“We have the ability to speak to them via police radio and also have the ability to be able to drop images live into their control room.
“For me, if there is a crime in action we will do that and communicate with the police. We’re here to try to prevent and detect crime and we’re supporting the police in the delivery of that.
“Why wouldn’t you take an active response to stopping criminals in their tracks?
“Where we have active CCTV we will continue to proactively monitor those stations for people who are about to commit crime.”
He added: “We are 24/7, 365. We will do the majority of that viewing and we will narrow down the footage to literally, ‘there you go, there’s your snapshot of the bike before, there’s the person stealing it’.”
In January, BTP Assistant Chief Constable Ian Drummond-Smith said: “Rail passengers whose bikes are stolen rightly expect a thorough police investigation to trace offenders and reunite them with their property, and we are committed to bringing more bike thieves to justice in 2026 than ever before.
“To further improve our service to victims, and following an internal review, we have recently refreshed our Crime Screening Policy.
“Under this updated Policy, our officers will investigate more reports and explore all viable lines of enquiry if a bike is identifiable on CCTV, or if there is a witness to the crime.”
