Cycle crime is not a police focus
Discussion
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-cambridge...
Drug dealing and knife crime should be the focus.
The same people who target bikes are also involved in drugs and have a high chance of carrying knives.
What's the point in buying anything nice or considering commuting/mixed commute if you know there's a high chance that you're bike, something that you have worked hard for won't be there?
I'm sure the police officer is being selectively quoted otherwise why bother?
Drug dealing and knife crime should be the focus.
The same people who target bikes are also involved in drugs and have a high chance of carrying knives.
What's the point in buying anything nice or considering commuting/mixed commute if you know there's a high chance that you're bike, something that you have worked hard for won't be there?
I'm sure the police officer is being selectively quoted otherwise why bother?
It's a property theft crime that can be sufficiently covered by insurance so that the victim is inconvenienced but without (typically) any harm inflicted.
In turn anyone that is concerned about bike theft can only ensure they have suitable insurance and buy the best possible security devices (which are often >£100).
Given the growing number of fraud cases, the history of child abuse offences and the entire online -domain policing workloads, I'm completely unsurprised by these comments.
In turn anyone that is concerned about bike theft can only ensure they have suitable insurance and buy the best possible security devices (which are often >£100).
Given the growing number of fraud cases, the history of child abuse offences and the entire online -domain policing workloads, I'm completely unsurprised by these comments.
Even though I've had bikes nicked before and it's bloody annoying, if the police are in a position of having to prioritise what they investigate - and they are - then I can see why bike theft is pretty low down the pecking order. It shouldn't be this way, but if I was leaving a bike at a station on a regular basis it would only be a pretty cheap/basic/tatty looking one. The question becomes why the police are having to prioritise to this extent, which just turns into a big argument similar to many that have gone here before.
Not enough resources to investigate stolen bikes.
They're all tied up with arresting young teenagers with Autism for hurting their feelings.
On a serious note, if the Police fail to follow up on these reports then don't be surprised when people catch the thieves and decide to educate them / deter them further themselves
They're all tied up with arresting young teenagers with Autism for hurting their feelings.
On a serious note, if the Police fail to follow up on these reports then don't be surprised when people catch the thieves and decide to educate them / deter them further themselves
I understand why this a low priority, but as a victim of this crime I have to say the quotes from the police are infuriating. Especially the bit about "educating cyclists"
Similarly to the victim in the video, I had two bikes nicked. The first time I just got a crime reference, the second time an officer came out and I asked him how to prevent it in future. He said "well I wouldn't have stored a nice bike like that in here".
-'Nice bike like that' being a £300 beater road bike from Decathlon which I needed as my commute was over 20 miles each way
-'in here' being the secure bike lockup outside my flat with a code entry door and CCTV.
So what "education" was that then? What the f
k more am I supposed to do? Just not own something I need to get to work? Drag a bike up and down two flights of stairs twice a day?
The thieves know there is 0% chance they will get nicked. They are even using things like angle grinders in broad daylight in the middle of shopping precincts with people milling around.
Similarly to the victim in the video, I had two bikes nicked. The first time I just got a crime reference, the second time an officer came out and I asked him how to prevent it in future. He said "well I wouldn't have stored a nice bike like that in here".
-'Nice bike like that' being a £300 beater road bike from Decathlon which I needed as my commute was over 20 miles each way
-'in here' being the secure bike lockup outside my flat with a code entry door and CCTV.
So what "education" was that then? What the f
k more am I supposed to do? Just not own something I need to get to work? Drag a bike up and down two flights of stairs twice a day?The thieves know there is 0% chance they will get nicked. They are even using things like angle grinders in broad daylight in the middle of shopping precincts with people milling around.
Edited by budgie smuggler on Wednesday 23 August 14:46
budgie smuggler said:
-'Nice bike like that' being a £300 beater road bike from Decathlon which I needed as my commute was over 20 miles each way
-'here' being the secure bike lockup outside my flat with a code entry door and CCTV.
Don't think knowing bike spec for a stolen bike is in the police college curriculum. And if it was nicked from the storage then clearly it wasn't very secure!-'here' being the secure bike lockup outside my flat with a code entry door and CCTV.
The solution is undoubtedly just to get silly expensive (and often heavy) locks.
A friend rides a hybrid ebike and carries and motorycle lock chain with him. It's bonkers.
This bloke lives in Cambridge, which is consistently close to the top of any UK bike theft stats you look at given the popularity of cycling in that city.
https://thebestbikelock.com/statistics/bike-theft-...
Whilst it absolutely should not be like this, he's an A&E doctor leaving his bike at the railway station all day (or night) whilst he is on shift. Without wishing to victim blame - he categorically should be able to leave it locked up there and find it still locked up there on his return - the world is not a nice fluffy place and he must be naive to think that it will be there on his return.
No, the Police are not prioritising this crime because they are massively under-resourced. You can look to the Govt of whichever flavour you wish to blame for that. He should consider:
1) getting a foldie that he can take on the train and store securely at work
2) asking his employer to provide a secure cage for staff to lock their bikes in. They've done this at my local hospital (Royal Berks) because Reading has a similar bike theft problem and it is working well.
3) getting a 'station bike' - an absolute snotter that functions but not even the most desperate smack head would consider nicking. If it does get nicked treat it as an occupational hazard and replace it with another snotter.
I sympathise to an extent - bike thieves are scum - but honestly, once you've had one nicked from a station you've got to be a tad lacking in common sense to lock its replacement up there to allow them to rinse and repeat.
https://thebestbikelock.com/statistics/bike-theft-...
Whilst it absolutely should not be like this, he's an A&E doctor leaving his bike at the railway station all day (or night) whilst he is on shift. Without wishing to victim blame - he categorically should be able to leave it locked up there and find it still locked up there on his return - the world is not a nice fluffy place and he must be naive to think that it will be there on his return.
No, the Police are not prioritising this crime because they are massively under-resourced. You can look to the Govt of whichever flavour you wish to blame for that. He should consider:
1) getting a foldie that he can take on the train and store securely at work
2) asking his employer to provide a secure cage for staff to lock their bikes in. They've done this at my local hospital (Royal Berks) because Reading has a similar bike theft problem and it is working well.
3) getting a 'station bike' - an absolute snotter that functions but not even the most desperate smack head would consider nicking. If it does get nicked treat it as an occupational hazard and replace it with another snotter.
I sympathise to an extent - bike thieves are scum - but honestly, once you've had one nicked from a station you've got to be a tad lacking in common sense to lock its replacement up there to allow them to rinse and repeat.
Evanivitch said:
Don't think knowing bike spec for a stolen bike is in the police college curriculum. And if it was nicked from the storage then clearly it wasn't very secure!
The solution is undoubtedly just to get silly expensive (and often heavy) locks.
A friend rides a hybrid ebike and carries and motorycle lock chain with him. It's bonkers.
A lock does nothing, they are through them in seconds, and I do mean seconds! My bike had two Kryptonite branded locks, a D lock and a Fahgettaboudit chain (made with 14mm steel). It was a big old fThe solution is undoubtedly just to get silly expensive (and often heavy) locks.
A friend rides a hybrid ebike and carries and motorycle lock chain with him. It's bonkers.
ker.BTW I wasn't talking 'spec' with the officer, I just said it was a £300 bike. The storage was fairly secure until the thief broke the door/lock.
Edited by budgie smuggler on Wednesday 23 August 15:12
Its iinsured is not a valid argument otherwise why not say the same about burglary, theft, criminal damage/vandalism, car theft etc.
Plus if something is insured premiums rocket. So there is a loss.
I won't lock my bikes up anywhere. I won't leave my motorbike out of sight for less than a minute.
How sad is that? There are people out there that know they can steal something in broad daylight in a populated place with no consequences
budgie smuggler said:
A lock does nothing, they are through them in seconds, and I do mean seconds! My bike had two Kryptonite branded locks, a D lock and a Fahgettaboudit chain (made with 14mm steel). It was a big old fker.
Much as they are brilliant for tradespeople and DIYers, the battery powered angle grinder has a lot to answer for here, sadly. ker.Hugo Stiglitz said:
There are people out there that know they can steal something in broad daylight in a populated place with no consequences
Exactly, they'll quite happily sit there with bolt croppers or cordless angle grinders in broad daylight in the middle of a shopping precinct, safe in the knowledge that the police will not attend.https://www.facebook.com/reel/618457046314671
budgie smuggler said:
A lock does nothing, they are through them in seconds, and I do mean seconds! My bike had two Kryptonite branded locks, a D lock and a Fahgettaboudit chain (made with 14mm steel). It was a big old fker.
BTW I wasn't talking 'spec' with the officer, I just said it was a £300 bike. The storage was fairly secure until the thief broke the door/lock.
Kryptonite locks are just branding...ker.BTW I wasn't talking 'spec' with the officer, I just said it was a £300 bike. The storage was fairly secure until the thief broke the door/lock.
Edited by budgie smuggler on Wednesday 23 August 15:12
Litelok D-locks (not the cables) are much more effective against grinders with long duration protection.
The Police should not get to pick and choose which crimes the public want prioritised.
They should not be placed in position to need to prioritise in the first place, and secondly if we need to make choices, then perhaps the public who fund the police service and are Policed by consent should be the ones making the choices.
Let's face it, a team of one detective and four uniform could solve 90% of bike crime in three months. Provided the courts put the guilty away for 2 years.
It would be over quite quickly, they just cannot be arsed to do any actual detecting.
The amateur in the video has return 500 bikes to owners, and its not even his job.
The worrying thing is tackling all crime soaks up the offenders who are also involved in other criminality. Motorbike/bicycle thieves aren't specialists only taking in one aspect of the theft book.
It's an opportunity for quick hits to get them off the street/disrupt, taking off them their tools of their trade. Looking at house searches etc. Someone who will stand in a middle of a town in daylight stealing a bike - what else are they up to?
Soak up the demand generators.
Focusing on certain crimes ignores the wider public, those that support the police. Without the public support- without the trust where does that leave police forces?
It's an opportunity for quick hits to get them off the street/disrupt, taking off them their tools of their trade. Looking at house searches etc. Someone who will stand in a middle of a town in daylight stealing a bike - what else are they up to?
Soak up the demand generators.
Focusing on certain crimes ignores the wider public, those that support the police. Without the public support- without the trust where does that leave police forces?
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff