Bike Theft By Neighborhood
Using the reporting tool on the Denver Crime Offenses Website, I downloaded data for each neighborhood in the city/county, from 3/27/11 through 9/25/11.
I compiled all of the bike theft data into this map, showing the best and worst neighborhoods in Denver for bike theft.
Click the image to view full size
So for the first part of 2011, the 10 worst neighborhoods for bike theft are:
| Neighborhood | Bikes Stolen |
| CBD | 129 |
| Union Station | 89 |
| Five Points | 76 |
| Capitol Hill | 72 |
| Highland | 41 |
| North Capitol Hill | 38 |
| Speer | 38 |
| Auraria | 34 |
| Lincoln Park | 27 |
| Civic Center | 24 |
And the 11 best, all with 0 bikes stolen are:
| Neighborhood | Bikes Stolen |
| Chaffee Park | 0 |
| Cory - Merrill | 0 |
| Country Club | 0 |
| Globeville | 0 |
| Harvey Park | 0 |
| Kennedy | 0 |
| Mar Lee | 0 |
| Marston | 0 |
| Montclair | 0 |
| Valverde | 0 |
| Wellshire | 0 |
The top 10 makes sense to me. They're all neighborhoods with a lot of traffic (pedestrian, vehicle, bicycle, etc), and places where there is generally a lot going on.
I expected the areas around the University of Denver to be a bit worse than they were, especially since I've heard numerous stories of vehicle break-ins on university property.
| Neighborhood | Bikes Stolen |
| University | 18 |
| Platt Park | 16 |
| Rosedale | 3 |
| University Park | 12 |
Also note, there was 1 bike stolen from DIA. I still think it's crazy to ride your bike to the airport; it's not a bike-friendly area at all. It's possible that it was stolen off of a luggage carousel, I suppose.
Bike Theft Map of Denver
I geocoded the data from the Denver Crime Offenses Website using BatchGeo. The map below will give you a slightly better idea of where bike theft is most common, as far as specific streets and attractions that may be targeted. For example, the 16th St Mall.
Click HERE to view in a new tab
I Want To Ride My Bicycle
I won't let bike thieves stop me from doing what I want... Riding my bike!
Most universities require you to report bicycle thefts to their security group. I know DU has DU security phone numbers on all their racks. I also know a lot of Universities don't report crimes like that to the police, because it looks bad for the University.
ReplyDeleteGood point. Although that wouldn't account for off-campus crimes (for example, having a bike stolen from the porch of your off-campus home).
ReplyDelete