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What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

blog.priceonomics.com

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Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#301

Post by crntaylor »

Blara wrote: post #296
alttag wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've done some work with a local (university) police force that used bait bikes. They'd attach a GPS device, secure it with a poor lock, and wait a couple of days. I went with them once to track down where the stolen bike was parked. Every once in a while they'd land on a ring selling all kinds of stuff on Ebay, but that was less common. Part of their trouble was, being an underfunded public agency, their bike wasn't…

There are GPS modules you can attach to your bike, if nothing else it could at least get the police interested if you say "My bike was stolen, it has a GPS and right now it is here"

I'm not so sure. A friend once had a laptop stolen with the Prey anti-theft software [1] installed, which transmits the location, a screencap and a webcam photo of whoever is using your laptop once every ten minutes. He still couldn't get the police interested.

[1] http://preyproject.com/

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#302

Post by jvdh »

I live in the Netherlands, and bikes here are omnipresent. They also get stolen. A lot. Which is why most bikes you see in cities tend to be not too great looking.

About 10 years ago in the city of Utrecht the bike stealing was a really big problem. Here also the stealing of bikes is really hard to get caught with. The police used decoy bikes to catch thieves trying to steal those, but also this only catches small parts of them.

Ultimately this has been solved by also changing the way people handle this. If your bike got stolen, you just went out into the city, found a junkie, and often he had a bike for sale. If not he would have one 10 minutes later.

The police changed their approach to this, and started cracking down hard on the selling of bikes on the street. Not only the people selling them, but also the people buying the bike. Even going so far as police officers going undercover and trying to get people to buy bikes.

Within months the stealing of bikes dropped to near zero.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#303

Post by hessenwolf »

jvdh wrote: post #302

I live in the Netherlands, and bikes here are omnipresent. They also get stolen. A lot. Which is why most bikes you see in cities tend to be not too great looking. About 10 years ago in the city of Utrecht the bike stealing was a really big problem. Here also the stealing of bikes is really hard to get caught with. The police used decoy bikes to catch thieves trying to steal those, but also this only catches small pa…

Freakonomics discusses the exact same factor with drug dealing and the oldest profession - adding risk to the seller results in increasing margins which attracts more sellers; whereas adding risk to the buyer results in the margins dropping too low to be worth even a small risk for the seller.

Also, when I see somebody on a re-sprayed bike, that hasn't obviously been re-sprayed with purely artistic intent, I want to beat them in the face until they die (lost too many bikes myself).

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#304

Post by jawr »

greggman wrote: post #211

When I was a kid (GET OFF MY LAWN!!!) We used to be able to register our bikes with the police department. They'd stamp a registration number onto the frame of the bike using lettered taps and a hammer. The only way to take off the registration is to either file it down or cover it over, in either case a clear indication the bike is stolen. I got a bike stolen 3 times. Twice I got one back when the police found it (o…

Police stations in the UK will do this also, however they use some kind of UV ink as not to draw so much attention to it.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#305

Post by jawr »

A Dutch friend once told me that bike theft in Holland was pretty ripe, but it was more of a social norm; people wouldn't feel bad about stealing a rubbish bike and then leaving it somewhere for someone else to steal.. the bikes would almost become communal bikes.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#306

Post by adrianhoward »

One of the things I noticed when I was in Copenhagen for a week earlier this year was that people don't lock up their bikes as much. I saw lots of people leaving bikes unlocked when going into coffee shops, etc. when in the UK they'd be locking 'em up.

There were many bikes that were locked - but they looked more like "commuter bikes" near the metro and office buildings. Folk using them to get around during the day often seemed to leave them unlocked.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#307

Post by kurige »

fchollet wrote: post #284
evoxed wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. The only downside is that if a policeman is in a bad mood you may get stopped and checked to make sure you aren't a thief. Only heard of it happening to foreigners (not myself though) but it's a good idea to keep a card in your wallet or a photo of your registration (which is actually a really good idea for anyone traveling/living abroad: if you can keep them in a safe/encrypted place, carrying a photo of your p…

I'm in Tokyo and I got stopped twice by police officers wanting to check my bike, on a 3 month period (I do 2 rides of 30 mins a day). For basically no reason (other than being a foreigner in a country where the police is racist?)

If you are Even if you do get stopped for genuine wrong-doing, the worst that happens is you get a talking to or a citation at the nearest kōban. Better yet, if you learn even the tiniest bit of Japanese that will generally set the policeman at ease.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#308

Post by muyuu »

fchollet wrote: post #284
evoxed wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. The only downside is that if a policeman is in a bad mood you may get stopped and checked to make sure you aren't a thief. Only heard of it happening to foreigners (not myself though) but it's a good idea to keep a card in your wallet or a photo of your registration (which is actually a really good idea for anyone traveling/living abroad: if you can keep them in a safe/encrypted place, carrying a photo of your p…

I'm in Tokyo and I got stopped twice by police officers wanting to check my bike, on a 3 month period (I do 2 rides of 30 mins a day). For basically no reason (other than being a foreigner in a country where the police is racist?)

Many places in Japan are basically bike theft free. I used to live in a town in Kansai where people just left the bikes in the train station for their commutes without any kind of locks, and just found them in the evening when they were back. I was completely amazed by this. In Tokyo they mostly used basic locks that came with the bike, not sure what's the situation now, a decade later.

Now, some "gaijin" saw a business opportunity there and basically this level of safety is over in most big cities. I think it's totally understandable that they target foreigners. Japan is one of the safest places in the world and they want it to remain that way.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#309

Post by fromhet »

Cass wrote: post #171
fosap wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

European here. I thought the thief would now(after obamacare) have insurance?

Insurance companies will generally be quite happy to sue anyone they might be able to unload a bill on. If you get someone deliberately or negligently hurt in Europe, their insurance won't just roll over and pay their medical bills, either.

>in Europe, their insurance won't just roll over and pay their medical bills, either.

Sorry for being that European guy yet another time. But it is different in different countries. The Union's laws have higher priority than the countries laws. In this case though, the countries have their individual laws that go about giving everyone health care. So iirc correctly, here in communist Sweden no insurance companiy would be involved in the medical bills at all.

Re: What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?

#310

Post by fromhet »

March_Hare wrote: post #166
ralfd wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking of cameras: I wonder if bike theft is lower in the UK because of widespread CCTV surveillance?

Almost everyone I work with in London has had a bike stolen (or a least a wheel or two), and everyone I know who owns a bike also has insurance. Not great evidence, but I'm not sure theft is any lower.

Is all the cameras in the UK effective in any way? I mean, to know that the criminal wore a black hoodie and black pants at the time of the crime doesn't give more information than maybe sex, hoodie, pants and maybe a rough estimation of age.

Is it a potent law-tool for Londoners? What was the reasoning for getting so very many? How do people generally feel about them?

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