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Where do stolen bikes go?

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Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#91

Post by AtlasBarfed »

With the (hopefully) forthcoming ebike/escooter revolution, where you see china/netherlands small transportation/bicycle use in urban areas on a massive scale, the basic security issues of the bicycle-sized transport unit remain.

It's a problem so old, some of the first auteur films in cinema, "Bicycle Thief" was based on that problem.

If you can pick up something with your hands, how do you stop it from being so easily stolen?

The ebike battery provides power and weight for the personal transport vehicle to incorporate keys, trackers, and a bit more weight so it can't be moved with a single hand, but still, the issue is out there:

- we need embedded serial numbers in the major components (battery, frame)

- tracking / pinging that can be turned on for theft tracking like they did here

- removable batteries (recharge where you are, make the most valuable part of the e-vehicle more securable)

- integrated U-lock that isn't so effing annoying to use (cryptographic key on your phone) and isn't easily defeated by liquid nitrogen or other means

well, yeah, and make it cheap. I think there's a lot of opportunity for innovation in these platforms to solve/counter these age-old bicycle thief problems.

But a lot of it might be to get municipal policing policy to address them under the (flawed, but not totally) broken window theory. Take bicycle and ebike theft more seriously, it will help enable the transformation of cities in safety, use, convenience, and environmental efficiency.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#92

Post by blamazon »

denton-scratch wrote: post #60
blamazon wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My anecdote appears to confirm that bikes stolen in Oxford don't stay in Oxford. I've never been to Oxford but I'm guessing it has a lower density of bicycles per square meter than Amsterdam. Presumably it's easier for stolen bikes to 'blend in' in Amsterdam?

Oxford is a cycle city. Unlike Amsterdam, it has very poor cycle infrastructure; roads are narrow, and can't be widened because of preserved ancient buildings. There are more and more restrictions on ICE traffic, including ZEZs and LTNs. I don't drive, but it is definitely hard to get around in a car. There are two universities, and countless EFL schools and other schools; and students visiting Oxford are strongly di…

Interesting! I'll have to visit sometime, sounds like a fascinating place.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#93

Post by tough »

gambiting wrote: post #90
shiftpgdn wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had this with a stolen iphone in Houston, Texas. I called the local police and they said they couldn't help, I told the operator that's okay, I have a gun and I'll go retrieve it myself. An officer was standing in front of me 10 minutes later. We got the phone back.

And that didn't get you in any trouble?

C'mon it was in Texas

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#94

Post by ajp11 »

In the summer of 1997, I was sitting in the center of Amsterdam enjoying the sunshine on a warm bright afternoon. I saw a man wearing a wooly jumper walk up to a bike rack, pull out a pair of bolt cutters, snip a lock and ride away.

When I passed through Amsterdam for the first time I recall looking at the many bikes at the bike racks and thinking how old fashioned they all looked, I think it is still the same now.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#95

Post by grecy »

bckygldstn wrote: post #21

There's a Dutch bike company (VanMoof) that offers a Theft Recovery service for their bikes: they have teams of people that track down the bike (using GPS primarily) and basically steal it back. They used to produce monthly videos of bike recovery operations, though it looks like they've stopped the videos so you'll have to scroll past a few years of promo videos: https://www.youtube.com/@vanmoof Often they recover t…

> basically steal it back

This brings up an interesting legal question.

Is it illegal to steal back your own property? Even if you trespass onto private property to do so, the person would have to get the Police involved to do anything about that, at which time you can say "Sure, I'll take the trespassing charge, and while we're here I'm leaving with all of my property".

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#96

Post by Consultant32452 »

denton-scratch wrote: post #30

I had a £2,000 electric bike stolen in Oxford. No worries - it had a GPS tracker, and I could see it heading to Birmingham up the M40. Also, my neighbour had CCTV footage. You couldn't make out the faces or number-plate, but you could see it was a black Mercedes. It was taken at about 3AM. So they had "liberated" the bike (it was locked up), and immediately headed out of town. I'm sure it was scouted, then they came…

Only about half of murders even get solved, so it's no surprise the lack of response to your bike.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#97

Post by maximinus_thrax »

dahart wrote: post #89
maximinus_thrax wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They weren't interested - they told me to contact West Midlands police. So I rang them. No, they were not going to investigate: "Don't you realize how many Porsches are stolen in this city every day?" Also, they said they can't just walk in and have a look around (I guess they need a warrant, which is fair enough; but then why not get a warrant?) I've seen/heard this numerous times. Cops really don't give a shit ab…

> Cops really don’t give a shit about theft unless it’s from a business. My only experience with police and bike theft is the opposite; they police were helpful and recovered my bike. When I first called them they even suggested that I make initial contact with the thief and they’d be there to support the sting, which surprised me a lot! I found the bike a couple of weeks after it was stolen when the thief posted it…

I'm also in the western, US (the PNW) and my bike was stolen a couple of years back. It had a sticker and a registration number from my apartment building, which they called and left their phone number saying they found the bike abandoned and want to return it.

I called the number, and they told me to meet up somewhere in a relatively rough neighborhood. I told them I would love to meet up in front of a police precinct which they turned down, saying they don't have a car and can't get there (told them they can ride the bike to the precinct, and I can arrange an Uber to drive them back but unsurprisingly they said no).

I called the Seattle PD and told them everything, asked if they can help me by sending someone at the meeting site. They pretty much burst out laughing, told me not to go as I will likely get robbed or worse, forget about the bike and move on with my life. (I did file a report for the stolen bike though).

I ended up getting some money from my renter's insurance. The bike was worth slightly over $1000 when it was new (was stolen after about a year). I keep my bikes indoors now.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#99

Post by forgotusername6 »

denton-scratch wrote: post #30

I had a £2,000 electric bike stolen in Oxford. No worries - it had a GPS tracker, and I could see it heading to Birmingham up the M40. Also, my neighbour had CCTV footage. You couldn't make out the faces or number-plate, but you could see it was a black Mercedes. It was taken at about 3AM. So they had "liberated" the bike (it was locked up), and immediately headed out of town. I'm sure it was scouted, then they came…

A friend of mine had his bike stolen in Oxford. Someone came and took all the bikes at my house one night (except mine, because mine was awful and worthless). My friend later spotted the bike being ridden by a homeless man in the city. He was riding his other bike and made chase. The thief tried to outrun him, but my friend was on his racing bike. When he started to ring the police and describe his location, the thief dropped the bike and ran. I don't think I've ever seen a more proud looking man when he returned home that evening with two bikes. At least this one bike, on this one occasion, stayed in Oxford.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#100

Post by 7952 »

quacked wrote: post #38
isoprophlex wrote: post #10

Once I lost a bike that was parked right outside my house. Couple of days later I saw a guy ride around on my bike! I sprinted over and somewhat aggressively yelled "you're on my bike, buddy!" He got off, very politely handed me back my bike, and thanked me for letting him borrow it. Almost made me feel like I was the bad guy in the situation. Anyway I guess in some cases, a stolen bike doesn't go far at all.

> Almost made me feel like I was the bad guy in the situation. Many people who choose to live outside square-lawed society rely on people remaining docile and sticking to principle in order to prey on them, or at least to live a lifestyle where they don't have to collaborate with larger society to reap its rewards. It took me years to un-program "assume good intent and empathy" with people I didn't know that were try…

My guess is that it is safer to just return stolen bikes if caught by the owner and avoid police interest.
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