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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

#31

Post by usrusr »

na85 wrote: post #28
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…

What's stopping people from filing the serial numbers off?

Because potential buyers would instantly know that they are buying stolen goods. People who would be fine with that might just as easily steal a bike for themselves, making the definitely-stolen-bike market a really weak one.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#32

Post by maaaats »

na85 wrote: post #28
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…

What's stopping people from filing the serial numbers off?

I, for one, would not buy a bike with that filed off, because of the implication (and the fact that buying goods one could be expected to know is stolen is illegal). So that's that

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#33

Post by na85 »

omginternets wrote: post #13
upofadown wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

They are.

They're choosing the rational response when balancing a low-risk, high-reward activity such as bicycle theft.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#34

Post by darklajid »

na85 wrote: post #28
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…

What's stopping people from filing the serial numbers off?

I assume it's hard to sell it as your own if the buyer isn't shady/cares about buying stolen goods?

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#36

Post by x0x0 »

na85 wrote: post #33
omginternets wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're assuming thieves are acting rationally.

They are. They're choosing the rational response when balancing a low-risk, high-reward activity such as bicycle theft.

And yet... A friend was walking in soma watching a video on his iphone. He noticed someone peering over his shoulder; the dude grabbed the iphone and took off. My friend chased him, and this is where it gets interesting.

The thief, instead of outrunning my friend and/or just dropping the phone, punched my friend. My friend plus a bystander who saw the punch ended up chasing the thief down. SF police don't give a fuck less about a stolen iphone, but that punch? The thief is doing 2-4 years.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#37

Post by Audiophilip »

jdblair wrote: post #24
tlrobinson wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

I've thought a lot about this. The problem with hiding the tracker in the frame is the GPS and GSM antenna will be blocked by the metal tube. There would have to be a way to get the antenna out (maybe a special bottle cage, with the antenna leads going through the lugs?). It would work for carbon fiber, though, and those are the most expensive bikes.

>The problem with hiding the tracker in the frame is the GPS and GSM antenna will be blocked by the metal tube.

Not true, there are multiple battle-tested solutions out there, like these: www.spybike.com

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#38

Post by rwmj »

ck2 wrote: post #10
BEEdwards wrote: post #8

This is an awesome thing for him to be doing, but I don't understand why he needed to step up and do it. The thieves post in a public place basically admitting that they stole the item and are more than willing to meet up... Why did it take a third party to start doing it?

Because the police simply do not care about bike thefts so the criminals know they can get away with it.

I think the question of the OP is why don't the police do anything? It is their job after all.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#40

Post by JustSomeNobody »

dpark wrote: post #20
tlrobinson wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I would only buy one that charged while I rode my bike.
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