Helping Police Fight Crime

Akira Studio have recently completed and launched the National Off Road Registration Centre website. This 2 month long project has given the Police a new tool to help fight bike theft crime across the UK.

The registration concept was the brain child of Stephen Jewell of NORRC (National Off Rod Registration Centre) as a frustrated bike owner who could see a real need for a National database to keep a record of recreational off road bikes due to the high theft rate associated with them. The database records owners and bike details and on a bike being reported as stolen alerts the Police with the full details of the bike including frame and engine number to help aid the return of the bike to its rightful owner.

This has been a challenging project and one that Akira Studio is proud to be part of. As part of the website launch the Police issued a formal press release and the website has had extensive coverage on both the BBC and ITV television stations.

The website can be found at: www.norrc.co.uk

A customer testimonial from Steve Jewel:

To all at AKIRA STUDIO we had an idea that you have brought to life right in front of our eyes. We never imagined how our website would look or feel & the communication with you is second to none. As you know we are new to the internet but without your guidance & support we may have given up a long time ago. I can honestly say not only has AKIRA Studio given us a site we are proud of we also know that they went the extra mile for us & still are, they always show great interest & enthusiasm for what we are trying to achieve.  AKIRA has even gone to the extent of contacting our potential customers on our behalf to make our life that much easier & given us numerous tips on marketing. With hindsight we never knew what to expect from AKIRA but what we have received has been out of this world & they will always be a part of NORRC LTD.  We look forward to continue our working relationship with AKIRA STUDIO & wish them all the success in the future. Finally we would like to say thank you to Tony Scott & all his team for their help & input to realising our dreams.

Kind Regards Steve & Gosia 
For & on behalf of NORRC LTD

Below is a copy of the official press release:

A police officer from Leicestershire Constabulary wants to raise awareness about the theft of off road motorcycles and a new national registration scheme for off road bikes in an attempt to reduce such thefts.

Detective Inspector Chris Hewgill, from Loughborough, is a Motocross enthusiast himself and has followed the sport for many years. He often hears stories from fellow enthusiasts about bikes being stolen and he wants to combine his love of the sport with his job by increasing people’s awareness of the new registration scheme.

The National off Road Registration Centre (NORRC) was launched on Thursday 24th June 2010. For a yearly registration fee of £15, bike owners can register their bike details including the engine and chassis number with NORRC. The details are held on a database. The police are the only outside body to have access to the database to check for stolen bikes and register recovered ones. Anyone buying a second hand bike can also ring NORRC and check the bikes details on the database to ensure it isn’t stolen.

moto-cross-news

Steve Jewell from Hampshire set up the scheme. He said; “Without doubt the registration scheme will help the police to trace the owner of a bike if one is recovered or establish if it is stolen so the more riders that register the better. I have seen so much frustration and hurt when riders have had their bikes stolen that I decided enough was enough and we needed a national registration scheme in much the same way as the DVLA works for car owners. Only last week a lad from my riding club had his bike stolen and it was his whole world. His riding season has finished now because his bike has gone. I’d like to get as many people on the register so that we can tackle this problem.”

Motocross bikes can be worth between £2,000 and £12,000 and some Supermoto bikes can be as much as £50,000. Intelligence suggests that some of the stolen bikes are being taken out of the country.

Already this year approximately 49 off road bikes of varying kinds have been stolen in Leicestershire and Rutland. DI Hewgill said; “There is a big Off Road following in Leicestershire, off road sport is exciting and spectacular it attracts young and old alike who all have a passion for their respective discipline. Riders will tell you that their bike is their pride and joy and, as a result, I talk to a lot of people who are devastated when their bike is stolen and, unless it is fitted with a tracking device, it is very difficult to trace so it is rarely returned to its owner.

Whilst some of the stolen bikes are sold on to innocent purchasers some are simply ridden around local waste ground and parks. This is obviously dangerous, anti social and unfortunately reflects badly on the off road fraternity.

“We are doing lots of work using information and intelligence to investigate these crimes to try and catch the people responsible but there is a lot bike owners can do to help us by registering their bikes and taking simple crime prevention measures to ensure their bike isn’t easy to steal. If every off road bike owner in the country registered their bike with NORRC that would act as a huge deterrent to thieves as they would find it very hard to sell the bike onto anyone else.
There is some good news. Eighteen year old Mitch Eaton had his very distinctive motocross bike stolen from his home in Leicestershire on Sunday 30th May 2010. He published it on a well known off road website and received information from a friend that his bike had been seen being ridden on a park in New Parks. He and his Father, Wayne, went down to the park and saw it on Thursday 3rd June. They called the police who turned up and arrested the rider and a number of other individuals who were trying to help him escape.

Mitch says; “The police did a cracking job, officers arrived by car and they even had the helicopter up. We are really really pleased to get my bike back. We had to get the frame welded but I rode it at the weekend which was great.”

Steps you can take to keep your bike safe;

Register it with NORRC at www.norrc.co.uk
Ensure the garage/shed where the bike is kept is alarmed
Reinforce windows and doors
Chain the bike to the floor using a bike anchor with a strong padlock and chain, consider using a padlock with an alarm built in
Fit a tracking device
Ensure you have a note of the chassis and frame numbers
Remove wheels and store them separately
Make sure you are not followed home from the race track
Keep the fact that you have off road bikes at home to yourself don’t advertise the fact with vehicle graphics or by cleaning them at the front of your house

DI Hewgill continued; “We want to increase confidence among the off road bike community and reassure them that, if their bike, is stolen we are in a strong position to find it and will do all we can to return it to them. Using the register will help police forces across the country to tackle the problem more effectively. We also want to stop bikes being taken in the first place and would encourage owners to make them as secure as possible. Together we can make a difference.”