Bike theft has increased dramatically in Brussels. But the most puzzling aspect is its seasonality, unchanged for years—until now.
By Ana Muñoz
In 2000, 791 bikes were stolen in Brussels, according to the Belgian Police.
By 2013, the number had reached 2,515.
In 2023, 4,923 bikes were stolen. This is about double compared to a decade ago.
This increase is not evenly distributed across the city.
While some districts have seen stable or even decreasing bike theft rates over the past decade...
in others, more and more bikes are gone.
Some factors have contributed: more people living in those neighborhoods, more choosing bikes over cars, and more reporting cases to the police.
But these reasons don't explain the greatest mystery of all:
Seasonality
Bikes are mainly stolen between July and December. This trend has been consistent for a decade.
Is it because thieves "hibernate" in the winter? Is it because more people bike in the summer?
In 2023, however, there were about the same number of bikes robbed in both semesters.
"Why is the pattern changing now?" you may wonder.
Stay tuned—we'll keep you updated!
You can find the code for this page here. All visuals by Ana Muñoz using Datawrapper. Data source: Belgium Federal Police statistics
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