As e-bike ownership continues to soar, the Swift Current City RCMP haven't noticed a spike in thefts of the trendy transport.
Over the last three months, the detachment has only received 13 reports of bike thefts in Swift Current, five of which were e-bikes.
Evan Gordon, Staff Sgt. with the Swift Current City RCMP, said they haven't dealt with an influx of reports for bike thefts in 2024.
"E-bikes are a lot more common in general than they have been in years past," he said. "I think with that, e-bike thefts, you may see them become a little bit more frequent than in the past."
Bicycle and e-bike thefts have populated Swift Current social media pages at times this summer. The RCMP say they're more likely to receive reports about e-bikes gone missing than regular bikes, but overall Gordon believes both are still under-reported to the police.
"They're high ticket value items so the incentive by the owner to get that e-bicycle back is probably going to be higher than some bicycle cases," he said.
According to the City RCMP, they have better odds of recovering a regular bike as some are found within a few days a short distance away after being taken for joyrides. Although the sample size for e-bikes historically is small, they've had these sorts of instances pop up.
Several steps by e-bike and regular bike owners can be taken to help avoid these sorts of incidents. Keeping bikes inside a locked garage, shed, or even a home can reduce the risk of theft. Further action can include locking the bike up inside.
"Prevention is all about taking the steps to make your property the least appealing for a would-be thief," he said.
For e-bikes two extra steps can be applied, removing the battery, and attaching an AirTag or GPS tracker.
"If the thief sees that the battery is not there and understands that this is not just going to be a quick turnaround to sell or there's going to be work involved in trying to move this or use this, they may move on," he said.