The police are going to use more decoy bikes fitted with a track and trace system in an effort to catch bike thieves, free newspaper Spits reported on Wednesday.

Some 450,000 bikes in the Netherlands are stolen every year. Police hope using the electronic tagging will allow them to trace not only the thieves but the people who buy stolen bikes.

‘Decoys are now being used nationwide and the results of using decoy bikes are terrific,’ a police spokesman told  Spits. One small experiment in Noord Brabant led to 96 arrests in six months, the spokesman said.