Police advise cyclists to take bike parts with them - to avoid falling victim to theft

FATBEGGARONABIKE wrote:

So......the police know about this but instead of doing something to stop it like mounting an operation to arrest the offenders they blame the victims of crime because they have nice shiny bikes.

I'm sure the police are doing something about it and regularly mounting operations to catch the low-lifes who do this. In the meantime they are warning cyclists to be on their guard. I re-read the original article and can't see where they are blaming cyclists for 'having nice shiny bikes'.

I think what we really need is accessible, convenient and secure parking facilities in towns and cities, where we can leave our bikes, without worrying about them being nicked or stripped.

moved

Operations are mounted from time to time using trap bikes. However this is extremely costly in time and resources, two things that the Police don't have. The majority of thefts are because owners have left them insecure or secured with cheap locks. A new bike park at the railway station has improved things! Most people don't record basic details such as frame numbers so returning recovered bikes is nigh on impossible!

Vikeonabike wrote:

Operations are mounted from time to time using trap bikes. However this is extremely costly in time and resources, two things that the Police don't have.

You'd think it would be way cheaper now with the existence of cheap and fairly small GPS trackers. Rig up some bikes with trackers in the handlebars, saddles and wheels (inside the tire). Then the police can just drop them at crime-ridden spots and wait for the trackers to show movement. Then they can just show up at the house of the thief or the fence.

The start-up cost to work out the details is the most costly part, but the police already has quite some experience with GPS trackers.

Vikeonabike wrote:

The majority of thefts are because owners have left them insecure or secured with cheap locks.

No, poor locking isn't enough to cause a theft. Unlocked bikes don't nick themselves. You also need thieves who see bike theft as offering a good reward for the low risk of getting caught and police like Cambridgeshire are happy to keep pulling stunts like this and suggest that they can't really be bothered with it, thereby making the theives see it as even lower risk.

Vikeonabike wrote:

Leave said bike outside ASDA/TESCO/Sainsbury et al with anything less than a D Lock and a quality Chain or cable lock, it will be gone. Leave it somewhere where it is not visible and parts or the whole bike will go fairly quickly.

I've done both of those in my local town (including once completely unlocked at Sainsbury because I forgot both locks) and still got all the bike. I don't do it in Cambridgeshire when I visit, because their police can find time to fine people who get confused by their stop/start cycling-on-pavement lanes but can't go out and catch thieves.

I know police are overstretched but Cambridgeshire are especially awful at cycle policing lately. That's probably partly because there are a lot of bikes there but also because of the influence of their police commissioner, who has featured on this site before, I think.

a.jumper wrote:

Vikeonabike wrote:

The majority of thefts are because owners have left them insecure or secured with cheap locks.

No, poor locking isn't enough to cause a theft. Unlocked bikes don't nick themselves. You also need thieves who see bike theft as offering a good reward for the low risk of getting caught and police like Cambridgeshire are happy to keep pulling stunts like this and suggest that they can't really be bothered with it, thereby making the theives see it as even lower risk.

I agree with this response. Bikes shouldn't be nicked (but do get nicked). Any additional requirements or suggestions to prevent theft are by definition focussing on reducing the chances of being a victim of crime. This wouldn't be acceptable for more serious crimes (suggesting a victim of a violent attack is responsible for preventing the attack on them is unacceptable) so why is it for theft?
The focus should be on the perpetrators, to discourage them from commiting crime, not on the victims, who may do foolish things (leaving a bike unlocked), but don't deserve, however foolish, to be victims of another persons criminality.

FATBEGGARONABIKE wrote:

So......the police know about this but instead of doing something to stop it like mounting an operation to arrest the offenders they blame the victims of crime because they have nice shiny bikes.

There's no blame involved, just sensible advice given what's happening.

Some of it will appear overkill but all of it lessens the chances of the bike disappearing.