Written to be read on a phone, standing in an empty parking space. Work down the list in order.
If you can see the theft in progress, or you have a live tracker location and the bike is still moving, call 999. Do not follow it yourself. Give the operator the live location and let them decide what to send.
It hurts to say, but a surprising share of “stolen” bikes were towed, moved by a landlord or neighbour, or parked one street further along than you remember. Before anything else:
How you report changes what happens next.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Theft in progress, or a live tracker location | 999. This is an emergency and it is treated as one. |
| You have come back and it has gone | 101, your force’s online reporting form, or in person at a station. |
Have these ready before you call, because you will be asked for all of them: registration, make, model, colour, VIN or frame number, where it was parked and the last time you saw it. If you have a tracker, say so immediately and say what it is telling you.
Ask for your crime reference number. It is how you follow the case, and almost no insurer will process a claim without it. Write it down somewhere that is not a note you will lose.
Tell your insurer as soon as you have the crime reference number, and ideally within 24 hours. Late notification is one of the standard reasons a claim gets argued over. You will need the crime reference, the police force you reported to, and the circumstances.
Ask them directly: what does my policy cover for theft, what is the excess, and does my cover include a hire vehicle or replacement while the claim runs? Get the answers in writing.
Your bike is flagged as stolen on the Police National Computer, so any officer who runs the plate anywhere in the country sees it. It is also recorded on the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register (MIAFTR), the industry database of vehicles written off or stolen — which is what stops it being cleanly resold later.
If police recover your bike they will notify you, but they typically hold a recovered vehicle for around 14 days before disposing of it. If your claim is still in progress, make sure the police and your insurer both have a phone number that reaches you — recovered bikes have been scrapped over a missed message.
The order changes. Do not go and get it yourself — every police force and every insurer says the same thing, and the reason is that the people who took it may still be there.
Two things worth doing once the adrenaline drops. Record your frame number, engine number and a few clear photographs somewhere you can reach from your phone — almost nobody has these to hand at the moment they need them. And think about where the bike lives: most thefts are opportunistic, and ground anchors, covers and a bike that cannot be seen from the street do more than people expect.
Sentrix hides on the bike and pairs with a fob on your keyring. If it moves while your key is somewhere else, your phone rings. The app is free; live tracking needs a SIM, so after two free months it is £30 a year.
See the trackerFree UK shipping · 30-day returns · one-year warranty.
No. Police and insurers are unanimous on this. You do not know who is there, and confronting vehicle thieves has gone badly for people who tried. Call 999, give them the live location, and let them go.
It depends entirely on what else is happening in your area at that moment. What you can control is how you report it: an emergency call with a live location on a vehicle taken minutes ago is treated very differently from a 101 report the next morning.
Your V5C logbook has it, and so does your insurance documentation and often your last MOT or service record. Report the theft anyway with the registration — do not delay the report while you hunt for paperwork.
In practice, no. Insurers require the police report. Get the crime reference number during the first call rather than chasing it later.
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