As regular readers will know, Cycle Winchester has been monitoring the levels of bike theft in the city, and intervening to try and improve the situation in theft hotspots. Winchester city data is based on the published local police crime data; data on thefts from the station is based on a Freedom Of Information Request as British Transport Police crime figures have not been published online for a while. The latest figures show a mixed picture to say the least. Thefts from Winchester city have halved compared to last year whilst those from the station have almost doubled.
The map below shows the locations in Winchester where bikes were taken from in 2025. Click on the map for more details.
Thefts from the station have almost doubled and now account for almost 50% of thefts in Winchester.
Apart from the theft of two e-bikes from the “secure compound” we have no details of the thefts from the station. five of the 20 reported thefts were in September with a further four in December.
Finally, after several years, the barriers have been removed from the bike racks at the front of the railway station by the trees.
Our advice, based on past experience, is that the racks at the front of the station are the safest place to park a bike; hopefully the additional parking in front of the station may reduce numbers by riders begin able to avoid the hotspots. Coupled with the widespread use of D-locks (much more prevalent than elsewhere in Winchester) and a high degree of natural surveillance it is a better option than the notorious Bike Hub. Note that, in practice, we have limited information to support this advice.
The little-used “secure” bike compound turns out not to be particularly secure as two e-bike users found to their cost last year. Even in the compound it is important to use good locks. We’d like to see the compound’s current access system replaced.
The use of at least “Gold” standard locks is an important part of deterring thefts. It takes rather more nerve in a public place to use a disk cutter on a D-lock than it does to use a cable cutter to snip through a cable lock.
If you’ve had a bike stolen in Winchester we’d welcome hearing from you about your experience. In particular we’d like to know the precise location, type of lock used, if it was reported, any action taken by the authorities and any impact on you. Contact us via hello@cyclewinchester.org.uk
Following media pressure British Transport Police have now revised their ludicrous policy of effectively not investigating bike thefts.
Cycle Winchester has a guide to Bike security in Winchester here.