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A 17 year old boy has been given a three year Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) which bans him from touching or riding a bike unless he has documentation proving he owns it, following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service Cycle Task Force.
Reece Robertson, 17 years from Islington, was sentenced at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on 3rd April for theft of a bicycle in September last year.
As well as the ASBO, Robertson was given a supervision order for 18 months and will be required to be on a curfew for three months.
If he breaches his ASBO he is liable for arrest and could face a substantial prison sentence/
A second man, 19 year old Steven Dedman from Islington, was also sentenced and imprisoned for six weeks.
The sentence follows an incident where both Robertson and Dedman were caught red-handed by officers from the Cycle Task Force, part of the Transport for London funded Safer Transport Command, during a bike theft operation in Exmouth Market, in North London.
Dedman was seen loitering around a bike on 12 September last year. He was then joined by Robertson, who cut the lock securing the bike to a lamppost. Officers witnessed the offence and detained Robertson immediately. Dedman attempted to cycle off, but rode straight into the path of a Cycle Task Force police officer.
Both Robertson and Dedman were arrested and subsequently charged for theft of a bicycle.
Commander Adiran Hanstock, Safer Transport Command said: “This is a significant decision of the court which has resulted in harsh sentences for two youths who committed the intentional theft of a cycle; a restrictive ASBO for one and time in jail for the other.
"Cycle theft is a crime that can have a considerable impact on victims. The MPS and its policing partners, Transport for London will continue to target those involved and arrest them wherever possible."
The Cycle Task Force forms part of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Safer Transport Command which is funded by TfL.
