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Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

theguardian.com

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Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#61

Post by chrischen »

mc808 wrote: post #6

I wonder if there is more that bicycle manufacturers/dealers can do to prevent theft or help recover stolen bikes - not because they're obligated but just to improve sales. Especially as the price approaches four digits, "what if this gets stolen?" has to be near the top of most potential buyers' list of concerns and probably chills sales to some degree.

They could implement a system like iPhones (all iPhones register with Apple servers and lock up if reported stolen).

Mandatory serial numbers, and make it illegal to purchase or own a bike without a serial number, or to buy a stolen serial number.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#62

Post by archgoon »

ck2 wrote: post #10
BEEdwards wrote: post #8

This is an awesome thing for him to be doing, but I don't understand why he needed to step up and do it. The thieves post in a public place basically admitting that they stole the item and are more than willing to meet up... Why did it take a third party to start doing it?

Because the police simply do not care about bike thefts so the criminals know they can get away with it.

Not strictly true; the article details that 'The Batman' actually works in conjunction with the police.

It seems more like the case that he's taken on the overhead of investigating and coordinating meetups. Once that's done, the police seem happy to do the actual arrest.

However, this sounds like there are some very bad incentives in the PD, where performing arrests is prioritized over investigation. However, I think characterizing the issue as "simply do not care about bike thefts" may not be the most accurate description of the problem.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#63

Post by ptaipale »

wildmusings wrote: post #23
dpark wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is then you need to remember to keep your bike's GPS tracker charged. Your bike isn't carrying a large capacity 12V battery the way your car is.

I wonder if you could do the same thing a car does, charge the battery with the engine.

Put the GPS tracker + battery in the headlight of a bike with hub dynamo... the tracker would work, you can activate it for just a few munutes a few times a day.

But if the police does not care, it is not useful.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#64

Post by archgoon »

fiatmoney wrote: post #50
rwmj wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the question of the OP is why don't the police do anything? It is their job after all.

It's their job to do what they're told. If the city government decided Bike Crime was a top priority, cops got promotions based on how many bikes they recaptured, etc. then presumably they would be more active. Conversely, when the government decides it doesn't want a law enforced it's very easy to make that clear. Laws are an excuse to be able to target kinds of activity the government wants to target at the time; i…

Which is why the "Batman solution" as described in the article may actually be the best way of dealing with this problem. Individual citizens who care about the problem can investigate the issue, and once they've gotten the meetup setup, the police can be called in to complete the arrest.

This way, the community are the ones initiating police action, rather than the police themselves (which, as you point out, bad incentives can then result in an unhealthy relationship between the community and police).

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#65

Post by jessaustin »

Of the first 10 or so people he helped, most were from out of town...

This rings true to me. I once rented a bike during the second week I lived in a particular city, while I was waiting for my bicycles to be shipped. That bike got stolen, largely thanks to the shitty lock the bike shop included in the rental. I wouldn't be surprised if that shop just bought the bike back from the thief, after charging me the new price for a seriously used POS bike, but I certainly didn't darken their door again.

Later on, after I had lived in that city for a year or so, an admitted bike thief told me straight up, "oh yeah we know that bike is yours and we see you around all the time and you seem ok so we probably wouldn't ever mess with it."

Thanks, I guess?

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#66

Post by qq66 »

chrischen wrote: post #61
mc808 wrote: post #6

I wonder if there is more that bicycle manufacturers/dealers can do to prevent theft or help recover stolen bikes - not because they're obligated but just to improve sales. Especially as the price approaches four digits, "what if this gets stolen?" has to be near the top of most potential buyers' list of concerns and probably chills sales to some degree.

They could implement a system like iPhones (all iPhones register with Apple servers and lock up if reported stolen). Mandatory serial numbers, and make it illegal to purchase or own a bike without a serial number, or to buy a stolen serial number.

Illegal to own a bike without a serial number? That sounds like overkill.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#67

Post by Symbiote »

chrischen wrote: post #61
mc808 wrote: post #6

I wonder if there is more that bicycle manufacturers/dealers can do to prevent theft or help recover stolen bikes - not because they're obligated but just to improve sales. Especially as the price approaches four digits, "what if this gets stolen?" has to be near the top of most potential buyers' list of concerns and probably chills sales to some degree.

They could implement a system like iPhones (all iPhones register with Apple servers and lock up if reported stolen). Mandatory serial numbers, and make it illegal to purchase or own a bike without a serial number, or to buy a stolen serial number.

Bikes already have serial numbers.

It's called a frame number, and is stamped into the metal, usually on the bottom bracket (where the pedals connect).

At least in the UK, there's a police register of stolen bikes using these numbers. It's also illegal to buy stolen property.

https://www.immobilise.com/

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#68

Post by clem »

woah wrote: post #53
chris_wot wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flagrantly flouting the law and thumbing their nose at the police eventually causes the police to come into disrepute if they consistently show they don't care about theft. The police force can only really enforce the law because society gives them permission to do so. The instant that you have mobs of Bike Batmans the police will act because now you have increased vigilantism - and people taking the law into their o…

If bike batman shot someone, he would be guilty of murder.

It's been established as canon that Bike Batman does not carry a gun.

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#69

Post by WalterBright »

tlrobinson wrote: post #15
mc808 wrote: post #6

I wonder if there is more that bicycle manufacturers/dealers can do to prevent theft or help recover stolen bikes - not because they're obligated but just to improve sales. Especially as the price approaches four digits, "what if this gets stolen?" has to be near the top of most potential buyers' list of concerns and probably chills sales to some degree.

Exploding bike seats? http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYlBT1d_GWo Seriously though, GPS receivers and GSM radios are a few dollars each these days. Seems like an easy thing to hide in the frame (of course a thief could still part out everything except the frame)

Wouldn't a metal frame act as a Faraday cage and block all radio waves?

Re: Seattle vigilante reuniting stolen bikes with their owners

#70

Post by anc84 »

tlrobinson wrote: post #27
dpark wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is then you need to remember to keep your bike's GPS tracker charged. Your bike isn't carrying a large capacity 12V battery the way your car is.

For this purpose you could just have the cellular module wake up every x minutes to check to see if it should begin tracking. Or use BLE and an accelerometer. If your phone isn't in range and the bike is moving then starting tracking. I haven't done the math but you could probably get away with recharging every 6 months or so.

That sounds like a great Kickstarter project. ;)
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