Protect Your Bike
We are adopting the use of Project 529 Garage, an app that allows bike owners to register their bikes themselves, and permit owners to keep their bike information up-to-date.
Project 529 Garage’s app is already used by police departments across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and elsewhere. With the ability for bicycle owners to upload photos of their bikes, notify other users if their bike is stolen through alerts and the ability to register using just an email, Project 529 has seen success in many jurisdictions. Many in Victoria and Esquimalt have already registered their bikes through Project 529 and VicPD officers will have access to the app on their issued devices to query found bicycles. For more information on Project 529, please visit https://project529.com/garage.
The transition to Project 529 is a “win-win” for community and the police.
Maintaining and supporting VicPD’s bike registry required resources from volunteer Reserve Constables and VicPD Records staff, while new online services have emerged that offer bike owners new ways to protect their bikes. By moving away from a VicPD-supported Bike Registry, this will allow the department to reinvest our resources into other high-demand areas.
We have halted new registrations to the VicPD Bike Registry and our volunteer Reserve Constables have been contacting those who have registered their bikes with us to let them know the registry is closing. Reserves have also reached out to local bicycle shops in Victoria and Esquimalt, who were valuable partners in the success of the VicPD Bike Registry to thank them for their partnership.
In keeping with B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, all information in the VicPD Bike Registry will be deleted by June 30th, 2021.
VicPD officers will continue to respond to and investigate bicycle thefts.
Project 529 FAQs
What do I do if I previously registered my bike with you?
It will be up to you as a bike owner to re-register your bicycles with Project 529, if wish to do so, as the Victoria Police Department will not share your personal information. Project 529 is not a VICPD program and any personal information collected is via the service offered by Project 529.
What if I don’t want to register with Project 529?
Bike owners can also just record their own bicycle details including photos. If they want police assistance in recovering their stolen bicycles, it is essential to make a police report by calling our Report Desk at (250) 995-7654 ext 1 or by using our online reporting service.
How do I get a Project 529 shield?
Project 529 offers “shields” – stickers which identify your bike as registered with project 529. If you wish to get a unique “shield” for your bicycle or assistance in registering your bicycle, you can contact one of the registration station locations found on the Project 529 website under the “shield” tab. Please contact the business prior to showing up for a shield as they may have limited stock.
What happens between now and June 30, 2021?
If you have any other bicycles registered with us, until June 30, 2021 both the VICPD bike registry and Project 529 will be utilized to contact owners of bicycles that VICPD recover. After June 30, 2021, only the Project 529 site will be utilized as the VICPD registry and all data in it will be deleted and not be searchable.