What Happens to Stolen Bicycles? • Hacker News Board

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#131

Post by DannoHung » Tue, Aug 28, 2012, 8:17 PM UTC

frankus wrote: post #81

Bike theft seems like one of those quality-of-life crimes (like graffiti and coercive squeegee-monkeys) that's begging for some kind of creative enforcement strategy. - If there's an open-air bike market at 7th and Market, it seems like you could use some of the same strategies that have been used to shut down open-air drug markets. - Police in the greater Vancouver area have had a lot of success with bait cars, but…

How about a pressurized U-lock that releases a neon-pink paint cloud if the cylinder or restraining bar is cut-through?

I guess the trick would be making it get on the thief and all over the bicycle.

The best would be if it also stank to high heaven.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#132

Post by billswift » Tue, Aug 28, 2012, 8:18 PM UTC

elliottcarlson wrote: post #110

simba-hiiipower wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

interesting; i’d say that's pretty damn brilliant. then again, if the risk of being caught (and punished) is as low in NY as it appears to be in SF, that seems like a bit of an overkill; wonder what the scale of his organization is..?

This same concept was debated within the realm of drug trade - which obviously is at a different risk level. With special compartment style locks on a chain, the same concept is possible - without a dealer having to ever interact directly with the buyer. Same concept can also exist for hiding information (whistle blowers hiding a SD card with data, a key, who knows what). I don't know about SF, but it is not uncommon…

>Same concept can also exist for hiding information

In which case it is known as a "cold drop".

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#133

Post by Someone » Tue, Aug 28, 2012, 8:18 PM UTC

frankus wrote: post #81

Bike theft seems like one of those quality-of-life crimes (like graffiti and coercive squeegee-monkeys) that's begging for some kind of creative enforcement strategy. - If there's an open-air bike market at 7th and Market, it seems like you could use some of the same strategies that have been used to shut down open-air drug markets. - Police in the greater Vancouver area have had a lot of success with bait cars, but…

Not in Vancouver or even on the new continent, but http://translate.google.nl/translate?sl=nl&tl=en&u=h... shows an arrest from the Dutch supreme court on bait bicycles ("lokfietsen") that shows the method gets used.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#134

Post by kisielk » Tue, Aug 28, 2012, 8:18 PM UTC

fffggg wrote: post #70

Jun8 wrote: post #55

I think a useful tactic to curb loss of expensive bikes would be to legally target the people who buy them, these are the people that cause the market to exist and perpetuate the situation. My guess is that most of these people are not crooks, i.e. they are just young people who want to but can't afford a nice bike and they know exactly what they are buying. I don't understand anything about bikes so can't give an ex…

"I just know that is a stolen car" Which is why criminals do not charge half of its used value -- they charge 100% of the used value just like everyone else. You cannot tell a stolen bike on craigslist apart from a non-stolen bike based on the price alone. The problem of stolen cars is addressed through licensing and registration. Not to mention, bicycles do not have a reliable and standardized VIN system like cars d…

Not sure if it applies to all of Japan or just the city where I lived, but there was a requirement to license and register your bike with the local police department. Despite that my bike still got stolen from my apartment building, and from what I heard from others bike theft was not uncommon.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#135

Post by ethermal » Tue, Aug 28, 2012, 8:18 PM UTC

mootothemax wrote: post #105

frankus wrote: post #81

Bike theft seems like one of those quality-of-life crimes (like graffiti and coercive squeegee-monkeys) that's begging for some kind of creative enforcement strategy. - If there's an open-air bike market at 7th and Market, it seems like you could use some of the same strategies that have been used to shut down open-air drug markets. - Police in the greater Vancouver area have had a lot of success with bait cars, but…

I think the problem is not catching the bike thieves, more that the punishment given for stealing bikes is minimal, so it's not worth the police doing much about it.

But you could make possession of stolen property (the bike) a major crime with prison and financial punishment and you weaken the demand side of things.

Then using RFID or similar technology, you could embed a RFID tag somewhere in the frame. Then allow someone to report a stolen bike with a police report, very similar to a stolen vehicle report and then using remote scanners you could scan for stolen bikes very easily. All it takes is fear of a stolen bike to scare away potential buyers.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#136

Post by cloverich » Tue, Aug 28, 2012, 8:19 PM UTC

Retric wrote: post #109

enraged_camel wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can you tell if a bike you are buying is stolen? It would be pretty easy for a bike thief to post an ad on Craigslist saying they are selling their used bike. >>Tangentially, and pardon my ignorance, I'm not a biker: I can't understand people who shell out thousands of dollars for a bike, are these so much better than a $500 one? It makes a huge difference. More expensive bikes are built from lighter and stronger…

I would argue it's often more about falling into the same trap as 'audiophiles' as it is about direct benefits. Few people notice the added weight from drinking 2lb of water but people spend hundreds of dollars shaving 1/10th of that from their bike.

To chime in - offroading with a mountain Bike - if I take a drop > ~5 feet or so, the tires on my (former) $500 dollar bike would Taco.So yeah, there's a diff, and its not always weight.

Alas, my bike was targeted and stolen. :(

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#137

Post by peacemaker » Tue, Aug 28, 2012, 8:19 PM UTC

elliottcarlson wrote: post #76

There is a bike seller in Manhattan who uses an interesting system in reselling his (more than likely) stolen bikes. Once a buyer contacts him via craigslist, he finds out the persons general vicinity, brings the bike to the area and locks it up with a combo lock based chain. He will give you the address of the bike, and if you like it, can make the purchase online and you receive the combination. If you don't want i…

I'd say a more enterprising bike thief could really take advantage of this guy. Multiple email addresses to contact seller, regularly arrange viewings of these bikes and just steal them, probably using the same sort of equipment the seller uses to 'acquire' the bike originally!

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#138

Post by maxerickson » Tue, Aug 28, 2012, 8:20 PM UTC

simba-hiiipower wrote: post #121

elliottcarlson wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This same concept was debated within the realm of drug trade - which obviously is at a different risk level. With special compartment style locks on a chain, the same concept is possible - without a dealer having to ever interact directly with the buyer. Same concept can also exist for hiding information (whistle blowers hiding a SD card with data, a key, who knows what). I don't know about SF, but it is not uncommon…

considered drugs in this case, but couldn't figure out how that would work; how would you prevent theft (from your would-be customer)? there’s no conceivable way i can think of to present a drug for someone to ‘check-out’ without enabling that person to steal it..

Just give them a free sample.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#139

Post by Steko » Tue, Aug 28, 2012, 8:21 PM UTC

I wonder if the large number of stolen bikes on the market basically depresses local prices to the extent that even if you have to buy a new bike you don't lose that much vs a world with minimal bike theft. The Japanese market might be relevant, as 10-15 years ago there was seemingly little bike theft and now it's rampant in certain areas.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#140

Post by kisielk » Tue, Aug 28, 2012, 8:22 PM UTC

simba-hiiipower wrote: post #121

elliottcarlson wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This same concept was debated within the realm of drug trade - which obviously is at a different risk level. With special compartment style locks on a chain, the same concept is possible - without a dealer having to ever interact directly with the buyer. Same concept can also exist for hiding information (whistle blowers hiding a SD card with data, a key, who knows what). I don't know about SF, but it is not uncommon…

considered drugs in this case, but couldn't figure out how that would work; how would you prevent theft (from your would-be customer)? there’s no conceivable way i can think of to present a drug for someone to ‘check-out’ without enabling that person to steal it..

Presumably people will want to buy drugs from a dealer more than once so it wouldn't be worth ruining the relationship. Also dealers are usually connected to some sort of crime network so it's probably a risky proposition to simply steal from them outright.