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Where do stolen bikes go?

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Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#141

Post by convolvatron »

ecf wrote: post #119
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…

> unless it’s from a business To further clarify, unless it’s a business that makes routine donations to the police department. Police started out as private business protection for those who paid, mafia style, and they haven’t changed since then.

in the US I have actually gotten police to respond the homeless issues when calling as a business. not 100%, but they often send someone out. have not paid them off yet.

as a resident? if I call the non-emergency line they just laugh and tell me to move.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#142

Post by prawn »

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?

I wonder if you could slightly limit your exposure here by noting that you were legally carrying a gun, but for self protection. So there was less of an implied threat, but still maybe enough to spark a bit of police support?

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#143

Post by convolvatron »

agumonkey wrote: post #111
ozim wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Watch out - you know heavy chain is also worth money on junkyard so they are going to steal that as well.

True but it requires heavy tooling and more time. Most robbers want cheap shots.

this is patently not true. maybe titanium is gummy enough to give one trouble? but any steel that isn't brittle enough to shatter when you look at it is going to be trivial to cut with an abrasive disk and a battery powered grinder. if the chain is 1/2" instead of 1/4", it will take an extra minute maybe.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#144

Post by bee_rider »

bombcar wrote: post #62
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…

This is why cell phones just disable themselves when stolen even though infinitely traceable they have GPS and cell service after all). Nobody cares.

Probably illegal, but a GPS tracking and remote braking could be a “fun” (actually really dangerous) combo for a stolen bike. Of course it is just as likely that some unfortunate person would have unknowingly bought your stolen bike, so that’d be bad.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#145

Post by girvo »

noodleman wrote: post #129
dahart wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

This is almost certainly a UK specific experience. The police here have a track record of treating people who report crimes with disdain.

It’s no different here where I live in Australia, for small property crimes anyway. They’ll file a report at least, but nothing will happen even if you know exactly who did it and have video proof.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#146

Post by Maxious »

bee_rider wrote: post #144
bombcar wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why cell phones just disable themselves when stolen even though infinitely traceable they have GPS and cell service after all). Nobody cares.

Probably illegal, but a GPS tracking and remote braking could be a “fun” (actually really dangerous) combo for a stolen bike. Of course it is just as likely that some unfortunate person would have unknowingly bought your stolen bike, so that’d be bad.

Rented ebikes do this - take them outside their allowed geozone and they will periodically change the motor speed to throw you off (or at least go very slowly)

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#147

Post by girvo »

icelancer wrote: post #131
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. Have had my place of home and work both burglarized. The difference is that at work they show up, take tons of notes, interview you and your employees, and then ignore you. I vastly prefer the home burglary experience. At least they're honest about not caring. Both times I had 1080p footage with clear vision of the thieves and cars. Jack shit d…

It’s worrying though. It’s part of the social contract, and I worry about vigilantism rising if cops not doing anything about the majority of crime that affects most normal people is ignored, and that gets worse.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#148

Post by givemeethekeys »

maximinus_thrax wrote: post #97
dahart wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 precin…

Which Western town / city were you in?

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#149

Post by girvo »

JackAndJack wrote: post #138

For all who are up in arms about police not doing their job. It is almost always the same crowd, that boo the officers for doing their job when they have to use force. Guess people are afraid to go in rough neighborhood to retrieve their own property and police is not coming with them because they know they will have to use force to get job done. And when they actually use force, everyone including those whose proper…

> It is almost always the same crowd, that boo the officers for doing their job when they have to use force.

I disagree, and think it’s quite telling that you feel this way. Most people I know would love for the police to do their job and use the force that they and only they are authorised to use (here in Aus) to retrieve stolen private property. But they don’t. Best they’ll do is file a report so you can claim it on insurance if you’re lucky enough to have it.

Re: Where do stolen bikes go?

#150

Post by alwayslikethis »

Maxious wrote: post #146
bee_rider wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably illegal, but a GPS tracking and remote braking could be a “fun” (actually really dangerous) combo for a stolen bike. Of course it is just as likely that some unfortunate person would have unknowingly bought your stolen bike, so that’d be bad.

Rented ebikes do this - take them outside their allowed geozone and they will periodically change the motor speed to throw you off (or at least go very slowly)

I don't think companies are willing to handle the liabilities of "throwing people off". Probably just slowing it down to an unusable level.
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