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I've tried it... It seems to have reduced by ~75% the number of thefts I've had. (I used to have a bike stolen every 3-4 weeks, and now I only lose one every 3-4 months)
Jeez man why aren't you insuring them?
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C'mon it was in Texas
Still, you’re implying the use of a deadly weapon on someone else’s property. That’s going to get you in trouble.
Failing to take measures to prevent a breach of the peace that they had been warned about would be bad publicity, at best.
But I'm not inclined to take on cops and robbers at the same time. Like a circular gunfight, except with me in the middle.
Hahaha this is really some "why does water flow down" level shit. Bikes in NL get stolen by junkies, homeless, generally people without many options and definitely without the ability to do organized crime. They sell it asap, by circling around random people and saying "hey wanna buy a bike?" and then they buy whatever hit/food they needed to steal and sell the bike for. It's a pretty sad situation IMO, but it's no m…
> The scholars found that still another 22 of the bikes made such sufficiently similar movements that they seemed to be part of the same “subnetwork” of bikes.
> This research makes it clear that part of bicycle theft is organized.
Beyond learning specific things about the flow of stolen bikes in Amsterdam, the research is part of a broader body of work by Senseable City Lab that uses these trackers to try to understand the flow of physical goods through complicated/emergent systems.
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I remember my co-worker at the bike shop talking about this and how people in the area will sand their frames down and remove labels and anything else that would give their bike a look and feel of being expensive. Even adding duct and black electrical tape to ward off thieves from going after their bikes.
People will do anything to try and counter bike theft instead of just getting insurance. It did take me one bike theft myself to learn that lesson though.
Insurance is great for rare unpredictable events. It is not cost-effective at all for common predictable events.
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People will do anything to try and counter bike theft instead of just getting insurance. It did take me one bike theft myself to learn that lesson though.
In high theft areas, insurance is jacked up because the risk is so high. If you are getting your bike stolen every 3 or 4 months, the insurance company has already adjusted your premium so that they aren't losing money. Insurance is great for rare unpredictable events. It is not cost-effective at all for common predictable events.
The first line on the Amsterdam stolen bike report form at the local police station reads: "Waar heeft u het rijwiel zelf gestolen?" Which translates as: "Where did you steal the bike yourself?" So at least in Amsterdam this fact was common knowledge ;)
There was a security researcher in NYC that wrote about recovering his stolen scooter with an Airtag that discussed part of this question. At least some of the shops know they've got stolen merch and actively look for Airtags or other trackers. Found it: https://www.cnet.com/culture/guy-successfully-hunts-down-his...
- whenever I pick up the bike to ride it after a long period of not using it (say overnight or after a day of work), the airtag starts ringing. I don’t know why it does that but it would for sure tip the thief off
- don’t iPhones and maybe androids now show some kind of notification and offer to disable the tag if a tag you don’t own starts following you? That would also prevent me from finding the bike
- AirTags don’t report their altitude, only their location. Good luck figuring out in which apartment and on which floor it’s kept. Police would most likely decline to help as they can’t search every apartment
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Good reminder that the assertion "police exist to protect private property" is incomplete. They protect certain private property, but in general not your private property.
Also: you are not allowed to protect your own property. Call the police instead.
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It isn't about the value of property, it's about the effort required and chances of improving future career prospects. Recovering stolen bikes is, therefore, very low priority. I had a similar experience where I followed a bike thief to his home, again police not interested. Police forces in the UK have various campaigns where they will, for example, spend a month targeting a particular crime or social nuisance. With…
Also...I saw regular drug dealing from a house and told police multiple times...no action. I told my councillor who lives on the same street. They spoke to the community officer about it, they put two CSO's (Police Community Support Officer. Civilians dressed like police, no power of arrest!) in a car to watch the place. A few days later it was raided at 5am by a huge force. It really matters who you are!
All police are civilians. Don't let them tell you otherwise.