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Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

theguardian.com

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Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#11

Post by munificent »

CapitalistCartr wrote: post #4
have_faith wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised he let them publish a photo of him at all, the sunglasses aren't going to stop people recognising him.

Plus the article mentions he's a "married engineer, who is in his 30s", a bicycling enthusiast, and six feet, four inches tall. That, combined with the photo, is a pretty thorough description.

> "married engineer, who is in his 30s", a bicycling enthusiast, and six feet, four inches tall. That, combined with the photo, is a pretty thorough description.

Not here in Seattle, it isn't!

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#12

Post by loeg »

dkopi wrote: post #2

"The married engineer, who is in his 30s, and has been quietly tracking down stolen bikes for the last year, spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity amid increasing curiosity about his identity, motives and methodology." I'm guessing the main reason he wants anonymity isn't from criminals, but from his family, who would obviously kill him if they knew how much danger he's putting himself into.

Bike thieves are hardly organized criminals with weapons. Probably mostly homeless or very poor people without better ideas. It's a very low margin crime.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#13

Post by omginternets »

upofadown wrote: post #5
dkopi wrote: post #2

"The married engineer, who is in his 30s, and has been quietly tracking down stolen bikes for the last year, spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity amid increasing curiosity about his identity, motives and methodology." I'm guessing the main reason he wants anonymity isn't from criminals, but from his family, who would obviously kill him if they knew how much danger he's putting himself into.

A guy out stealing bikes is going to do everything they possibly can to avoid getting in a fight with someone. There is simply no profit in it for such low stakes.

You're assuming thieves are acting rationally.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#14

Post by matthiasl »

ck2 wrote: post #9

News people always smugly expose people who should be anonymous, I wonder if he knew they were going to print a photo of him. One day the intersection of super easy access guns with the combined lack of intelligence/respect of a bike thief is going to make things end very badly for the good guys.

"I wonder if he knew they were going to print a photo of him."

The fourth paragraph of the article starts with "He was however happy for the Guardian to publish a photograph of him".

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#15

Post by tlrobinson »

mc808 wrote: post #6

I wonder if there is more that bicycle manufacturers/dealers can do to prevent theft or help recover stolen bikes - not because they're obligated but just to improve sales. Especially as the price approaches four digits, "what if this gets stolen?" has to be near the top of most potential buyers' list of concerns and probably chills sales to some degree.

Exploding bike seats? http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYlBT1d_GWo

Seriously though, GPS receivers and GSM radios are a few dollars each these days. Seems like an easy thing to hide in the frame (of course a thief could still part out everything except the frame)

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#16

Post by maaaats »

In Norway we have a central register where you can add your bike. Each bike has a serial number engraved in the frame which is used for registering it. In an ideal world, everyone would check the bike they are buying in this register and see if it is reported stolen or not. Of course, this doesn't happen, but the opportunity of it I think helps deterring people somewhat for stealing a bike to resell it.

And last year in my town there was a "big bust" where they found a lot of bikes. Those who had registered their bikes could easily get them back.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#17

Post by vinay427 »

maaaats wrote: post #16

In Norway we have a central register where you can add your bike. Each bike has a serial number engraved in the frame which is used for registering it. In an ideal world, everyone would check the bike they are buying in this register and see if it is reported stolen or not. Of course, this doesn't happen, but the opportunity of it I think helps deterring people somewhat for stealing a bike to resell it. And last year…

Many local police forces (towns, cities, universities, etc.) in the US have this type of register using the serial number but I doubt that it is centrally accessible. Instead, they usually provide a sticker with the police department name/logo that one applies on the frame to identify where it's from. This is certainly not an ideal solution; I would much rather have something like vehicle licensing but free, managed by states or the federal government, which seems more in line with what you mentioned.

Edit: Just found this supposedly national registry: https://www.nationalbikeregistry.com/

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#18

Post by usrusr »

have_faith wrote: post #3
dkopi wrote: post #2

"The married engineer, who is in his 30s, and has been quietly tracking down stolen bikes for the last year, spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity amid increasing curiosity about his identity, motives and methodology." I'm guessing the main reason he wants anonymity isn't from criminals, but from his family, who would obviously kill him if they knew how much danger he's putting himself into.

I'm surprised he let them publish a photo of him at all, the sunglasses aren't going to stop people recognising him.

Won't help thieves recognize his online identity as a potential buyer. Once he is actually confronting them there really is not much difference between "random guy accusing me of selling a stolen bike" and "damn it's the bicycle batman, accusing me of selling a stolen bike".

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#19

Post by gumby »

CapitalistCartr wrote: post #4
have_faith wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised he let them publish a photo of him at all, the sunglasses aren't going to stop people recognising him.

Plus the article mentions he's a "married engineer, who is in his 30s", a bicycling enthusiast, and six feet, four inches tall. That, combined with the photo, is a pretty thorough description.

Luckily for him it's unlikely bike thieves are reading the guardian or, I hope, HN.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#20

Post by dpark »

tlrobinson wrote: post #15
mc808 wrote: post #6

I wonder if there is more that bicycle manufacturers/dealers can do to prevent theft or help recover stolen bikes - not because they're obligated but just to improve sales. Especially as the price approaches four digits, "what if this gets stolen?" has to be near the top of most potential buyers' list of concerns and probably chills sales to some degree.

Exploding bike seats? http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYlBT1d_GWo Seriously though, GPS receivers and GSM radios are a few dollars each these days. Seems like an easy thing to hide in the frame (of course a thief could still part out everything except the frame)

The problem is then you need to remember to keep your bike's GPS tracker charged. Your bike isn't carrying a large capacity 12V battery the way your car is.
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