If you are planning on taking a trip to the Netherlands anytime soon, then you should rest easy knowing that the country is extremely safe from crime. However, while that’s true for people, it’s not necessarily true for bicycles in Amsterdam. If the bikes in Amsterdam could talk to us, I’m sure we’d have a bevy of theft stories to share with you. That’s because over three-hundred bikes are stolen in Amsterdam daily, according to ANWB.
Do bikes get stolen in Amsterdam? Unfortunately, bike theft is the number one reported crime that takes place in Amsterdam. It seems bikes in Amsterdam aren’t particularly safe anywhere since 58 % of stolen bikes are taken from the front of a person’s house during the daytime. And if over 300 bikes are stolen daily, that means annually about 50,000 to 80,000 bicycles are stolen in Amsterdam.
Since there isn’t a lot of information available on the Internet today covering bike theft in Amsterdam, we’ll give you some tips to help you out if you are planning to travel to Amsterdam anytime soon. Below we’ll cover some facts about bike theft in Amsterdam, how you can avoid bike theft and Amsterdam, and a few things to do if you realize that your bike has been stolen.
Amsterdam Bikes are Often Stolen from People’s Homes
Compared to the United States, Amsterdam is a very safe, low-crime country. However, the major crime problem you’ll discover when you visit Amsterdam is bike theft. If you ever decide to move to Amsterdam, the Dutch will tell you that you aren’t an official resident until your bike has been stolen. While getting your bike stolen is no laughing matter, it happens so often in Amsterdam that many of the locals have formed a sense of humor about the topic.
Not only are bikes frequently stolen in Amsterdam, but about 45% of the bikes stolen in the city are removed from a person’s home. Compare that statistic to the city shopping areas, where about 20% of the bikes in Amsterdam are stolen. Another 18% of bikes in Amsterdam are taken from train stations.
Unfortunately, most focused bike thieves own professional cutting tools, a van, and have enough time to capture your bike. So, you won’t be able to prevent bike theft 100% of the time if you live or visit Amsterdam, but there are a few things you can do to make it more difficult for a criminal to steal your bike. If you use methods to frustrate criminals or slow them down, they’ll be more likely to pick off somebody else’s bike if it’s easier.
So, the whole point is to make it as difficult as possible for a bike thief to capture your bike. To help you understand what you can do to prevent bike theft while you are in the Netherlands, we created a helpful list for you below.
How to Prevent Bike Theft in Amsterdam
There are several steps you can take to protect your bike and discourage a thief from stealing your personal property. Remember, the most important rule is that you should always lock your bike, even if you are only going inside a store for a couple of minutes. We’ll get into more detail about how you should lock up your bike later. For now, consider doing the following to prevent bike theft while you are in the Netherlands.
1. Avoid Stolen Bikes
If you are looking to purchase a new bike, don’t ever buy one that is stolen. If you are looking at a used bicycle, ask the owner for his or her original proof of purchase. If the seller doesn’t have that information, you should take a look at the stolen bicycle registry, which is kept up by the Dutch police.
You’ll always need to be very careful if you are purchasing a used bike in Amsterdam. Even if you unintentionally buy a stolen bicycle, you might wind up in steep legal problems. Plus, the police can take the bike away from you also though you did purchase it.
So, before you buy a used bicycle in Amsterdam, take a look at the serial number and make sure you can read it. Also, check on the bicycle’s original lock to make sure it isn’t damaged, which is a sure sign of a stolen bike.
2. Make it Easy to Find Your Bike
If you already own your bike, then it’s time to take a few steps in case your bicycle gets stolen. If you have all of the necessary information, you’ll have a better chance of getting your bike back if it ever does get taken. First, make sure you register your bike. You can do that when you buy your bicycle or online for free.
Also, you’ll need to write down some information about your bike. Create a paper with the bike manufacturer, model number, your bike color, and anything else that could identify your bike. The Dutch police use what is called a bicycle registration card to gather up this information if your bicycle gets stolen. If you realize you’ve been the victim of bike theft, you’d fill out that card and give it to the police along with your police report.
3. Get Your Bike Engraved
If you didn’t already know it, you could get your bike engraved free-of-charge in Amsterdam and many other Dutch cities. By getting your bike engraved, it makes it much easier to identify if it ever gets stolen. An engraved bike is a way to deter a bike thief, as well as visibly. So, if you want to do what is called a bicycle tattoo for free, also known as an engraving, check out this page to see where you can go.
4. Theft Prevention Chips and GPS Trackers
We also recommend that you install a theft prevention chip on your bike. If you do this, the police can track your bike if it ever gets stolen. It’s also a good idea to purchase a tiny GPS tracker and disguise it somewhere on your bicycle. With a GPS tracker, you can tell where your bike is at all times, and that can make it very easy for the police to find it and return it to you.
5. Get a Sturdy Lock
You’ll also need to purchase a sturdy lock. That means not buying the most affordable lock, but instead buying a hard steel lock or a U-lock. We recommend you purchase two locks that are two different types because most bike thieves can only crack one kind of lock.
Since knowing how to lock your bike correctly and where to lock your bike are also very important when it comes to deterring bicycle thieves, we’ll cover that information in more detail below.
Where to Lock Your Bike in Amsterdam
While it might sound odd to know where you should lock your bike in Amsterdam, if you pay some attention to the place you are leaving your bike, you can make things much harder for bike thieves.
1. Look for Parking Signs
Before you park your bike anywhere, check to see if any signs prohibit people from parking their bikes in this area. If you do park your bike where there is a sign, city employees can remove your bike because of the illegal parking. You’ll then have to pick your bicycle up at a fietsdepot, or a bicycle repository.
In the Netherlands, you’ll be looking for a white sign that has black print across it. The black print reads, “Fietsen worden verwijderd,” which means “Bikes will be removed.” If you see that sign, you should not park your bike there, or it will likely get impounded.
2. Look for Bike Parking Facilities and Bike Racks
Whenever you can, use bike parking facilities if you see them. There are typically attendants present at these types of bike parking facilities, and that decreases the likelihood of bike theft. Also, you’ll need to look around and find a bike rack if you see them. It’s easier to chain your bike to a bike rack than it is to tether it to just about anything else.
However, if you cannot find a bike rack, you should use a solid object that is attached to the ground, like a fence or a tree.
3. Make Sure the Area is Well-Lit
If you lock your bike in a well-lit area that is quite busy, this helps decreases your chances of experiencing bike theft. We recommend you use both a wheel lock and a chain lock to prevent your bike from getting stolen. So, you should never lock just the front wheel since it’s straightforward to remove the front wheel for a determined thief.
Also, lock your bike high. If you wind up locking your bike, so the chain falls to the ground, it’s straightforward for a bike thief to grab a rock and smash your lock open. It’s also easier to use bolt cutters when a chain is laying on the ground.
Now we’ll cover a bit more information about how you should correctly lock up your bike to deter bike thieves in the Netherlands.
How to Lock Your Bike in Amsterdam
Now that you know where to lock your bike up when traveling through Amsterdam, we’ll tell you how you can lock your bike in Amsterdam to deter bicycle theft. We mentioned already that you should use two locks, a wheel lock, and a chain lock, but we didn’t cover how you should use them. Below we’ll give you the details.
Using Your Wheel Lock
To correctly use your wheel lock, attach it to your bike frame. Then, grab the metal rod that’s between your back wheel’s spokes so your wheel won’t be able to turn. Usually, you’ll insert your key into a lock and use it to push a latch. After that, you’ll turn and pull the key out of the lock. That should lock the back wheel.
Keep the key in a safe place until you go back to unlock the wheel lock before you head home. You’ll be able to keep the key inside your lock as you are riding your bike, so it makes it easier for you to remember to use the lock whenever you park.
However, as we mentioned earlier, using just a wheel lock on your bike won’t be enough to deter most bike thieves because many of them know how to remove wheels or pick wheel locks. So, use a chain lock, too, to make it more difficult to steal your bike.
Using Your Chain Lock
A chain lock is also easy to use. After you’ve locked your wheel lock, get your chain lockout and wrap it around the wheels, the frame, and the bike rack or object with which you are locking your bike. The ends of the chains can have a variety of connections, including a combination lock or a key. Keep in mind that you’ll need to attach the clamp to a stationary object and wrap the chain around the wheels and the frame.
If you don’t think about locking your wheels, too, with your chain lock, it’s much easier for a bike thief to steal your wheels. And trust me, if they can, they will. So, fully thread your chain lock and also use a wheel lock to make it much more difficult for a thief to steal your bike.
Tips to Prevent Bike Theft in Amsterdam
Now that you know where to lock your bike and how to lock your bike, we’ll give you a couple of essential tips that can also help deter bike thieves.
- First, when you purchase your bike, don’t go for the “best” or the flashiest bike. If you are renting, you’ll be stuck with whatever they hand you. However, the entire purpose is to avoid drawing a lot of attention to your bike.
- When you travel around Amsterdam, you’ll probably realize that some locals have terrible looking bikes that are painted in flashy, awful colors, or personalized in some odd-looking way. The locals usually do this on purpose as a security method so that their bikes don’t get stolen.
- If you are renting a bike when you are visiting Amsterdam, then you should buy bike insurance. You’ll always have the option of purchasing the insurance, although it will cost you a bit more. However, it’s usually very low, and it will cost you nothing to replace the bike if it gets stolen. If you are renting your bike when it gets taken, you’ll have to dish out the money to replace the bike.
My Bike Disappeared in Amsterdam—Now What?
If you leave the store you are shopping only to return to the empty space where you’ve parked your bike; then you’ve got a problem. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean your bicycle was stolen. So, before you contact the police, you should consider calling the Bicycle Depository.
That’s because Amsterdam often removes bikes if they are parked longer for two weeks or parked illegally, and then takes them to the depository. Those bikes are then registered and examined to see if they have been stolen.
If city officials have removed your bike, it can be stored at the local depository for up to three months. During those three months, the bike’s owner is allowed to come to pick up the bike. However, only about 25% of the bikes picked up by the depository are ever returned. That’s probably because many owners assume their bikes are stolen, and there is no hope for recovery. However, that’s not necessarily true, and that’s why your first step should be to contact the depository.
Bikes that aren’t picked up from the depository after three months have passed are typically utilized for employment and other types of city projects or auctioned off. Several Dutch cities have their bike depositories, so it’s worth checking them out if your bike has disappeared. Also, the Dutch national database of lost items features a list of bikes that were picked up by city workers. The phone number for the bike depository in Amsterdam is (020) 334 4522.
If you call and discover your bike is at the bike depository, you’ll need to follow a few steps to retrieve it.
Picking Up Your Bike from the Bike Depository
The Bike Depository in Amsterdam is ten kilometers from the center of the city. Many people that live in Amsterdam hate this fact about the bike depository since it is far away from the city. However, you can get there quickly by taking bus 82 from the Amsterdam-Sloterdijk station. The direction is Ijmuiden, and your bus stop would be Westpoortweg.
First, you’ll need to make sure you have an ID on you so that you can register the bike in your name (that is, if it is YOUR bike—if it’s a rental, then don’t do that). Also, you’ll need to be able to describe the bike. Tell the employees about your bike’s unique features. If you’ve had it engraved, that will help identify the bike more quickly.
You should also bring your bicycle keys if you have any, and some money so you can pay the € 22,50 fee to retrieve your bike. If you’d prefer to have your bicycle delivered somewhere, you can do that for a fee of €35,00.
However, if you call the bike depository and discover your bike isn’t there, then it’s been stolen. If that’s the case, you’ll need to follow the steps below to try and reclaim your bicycle.
My Bike Was Stolen!
If you find out your bike isn’t at the Amsterdam depository, then you need to call the police on the phone (0900 8844), or you’ll need to fill in a police report online. Once you submit your police report, the bike you’ve reported stolen will then be added to the stolen bicycle registry. If you have bike insurance, you’ll also need to make sure you have a copy of that police report.
Unfortunately, only about seven percent of the bikes that are stolen in Amsterdam is found. If your bike has a chip or a frame number, you’ve got a fifteen percent chance. However, if you fail to make a police report, you won’t get your bike back. So, it’s still worth it to try.