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Bike Theft In the U. S.



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 22nd 17, 06:43 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Bret Cahill
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Default Bike Theft In the U. S.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/livab...421-story.html
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  #2  
Old April 23rd 17, 12:34 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
jnugent
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Default Bike Theft In the U. S.

On 22/04/2017 18:43, Bret Cahill wrote:

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/livab...421-story.html


QUOTE:
In Los Angeles and virtually every city in North America, bicycle theft
has almost become a crime without consequence, so widespread that it is
treated less as a problem and more like one of the costs of urban life.
Thieves can quickly cut locks on a target that serves as its own getaway
vehicle, sell their ill-gotten goods to fencers for pennies on the
dollar, and rest assured they will almost never be busted.
ENDQUOTE

Wouldn't it be easier to combat that sort of crime if bicycles were
easier to track once stolen - and pouldn't just be re-used with impunity
as long as they were just a reasonable distance from the true owner's
home ground?

There could be a manufacturer's ID built into the frame somewhere.

We could call it the Vehicle Identification Number.

And if the bike had a clear and unique public registration plate,
visible to any passer-by, any road-user or any police officer, renewed
annually (except where the VIN marked them as stolen or had been
erased/defaced or was otherwise not on the list of valid VINs), it would
be much harder for a market for stolen bikes to exist. Thieves would be
reduced to cutting them up for spares, which is W O R K.

If cars didn't have VINs and registration plates, I dare say that even
more of those would be stolen and never reappear.

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  #3  
Old April 23rd 17, 05:19 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Bret Cahill
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Posts: 875
Default Bike Theft In the U. S.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/livab...421-story.html

QUOTE:
In Los Angeles and virtually every city in North America, bicycle theft
has almost become a crime without consequence, so widespread that it is
treated less as a problem and more like one of the costs of urban life.
Thieves can quickly cut locks on a target that serves as its own getaway
vehicle, sell their ill-gotten goods to fencers for pennies on the
dollar, and rest assured they will almost never be busted.
ENDQUOTE

Wouldn't it be easier to combat that sort of crime if bicycles were
easier to track once stolen - and pouldn't just be re-used with impunity
as long as they were just a reasonable distance from the true owner's
home ground?

There could be a manufacturer's ID built into the frame somewhere.


The practical way to go is to GPS the bike so you can find it on the phone.


Bret Cahill


  #5  
Old April 23rd 17, 05:43 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
jnugent
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Default Bike Theft In the U. S.

On 23/04/2017 10:56, Paul Cummins wrote:
In article ,
(JNugent) wrote:

There could be a manufacturer's ID built into the frame somewhere.


There is - it's called the "Frame Number"

We could call it the Vehicle Identification Number.


Why - it already exists, it's called the "Frame Number"

And if the bike had a clear and unique public registration plate,
visible to any passer-by, any road-user or any police officer,
renewed annually (except where the VIN marked them as stolen or had
been erased/defaced or was otherwise not on the list of valid
VINs), it would be much harder for a market for stolen bikes to
exist.


That's an excellent idea - lets try it out on bigger vehicles first, like
cars. Especially this "renew the Registration plate every year" idea.

After all, if it reduces car thefts, then it'll certainly reduce bicycle
thefts, as they are soo much harder to steal. Oh wait...


Though you obviously didn't know it, car-theft is actually rare in the
the UK and countries with similar systems. It happens, but it isn't at
all common.

You are, of course, confusing theft (permanent deprivation, which is
what is reported to happen with bikes), with "taking away without the
owner's consent", which is what tends to happen with cars.

This is no trivial difference. The registration and VIN system means
that most TWOCd cars are recovered and returned to their owner.

Do you not want that for bikes, then?

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  #7  
Old April 23rd 17, 09:25 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
TMS320
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Default Bike Theft In the U. S.

On 23/04/17 17:43, JNugent wrote:

Though you obviously didn't know it, car-theft is actually rare in
the the UK and countries with similar systems. It happens, but it
isn't at all common.



You're rather naive if you think plates have much to do with it.

It is not common because cars have had electronic keys for the last 20
years and can't be hot wired; the key (or code) has to be obtained first.
  #9  
Old April 24th 17, 01:38 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
jnugent
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Default Bike Theft In the U. S.

On 23/04/2017 21:25, TMS320 wrote:

On 23/04/17 17:43, JNugent wrote:

Though you obviously didn't know it, car-theft is actually rare in
the the UK and countries with similar systems. It happens, but it
isn't at all common.


You're rather naive if you think plates have much to do with it.



It is not common because cars have had electronic keys for the last 20
years and can't be hot wired; the key (or code) has to be obtained first.


Nothing whatever to do with it.

What is usually (inaccurately) termed a "stolen" car has not been stolen
at all, because "steal" has a specific meaning in law which is not
satisfied by joyrising, etc..

That's why there is an offence of "taking away without the owner's
consent" - it's because the essential elements of the crime of theft do
not exist in such cases and therefore cannot be proven.

I had two cars TWOCd in the 1970s and got them both back when notified
by the police (guess how they traced me?).

If TWOCing has been reduced by better security devices, that's great,
but reducing TWOC offences is not the same thing as reducing the number
of thefts.




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  #10  
Old April 24th 17, 08:27 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
MrCheerful
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Default Bike Theft In the U. S.

On 24/04/2017 01:38, JNugent wrote:
On 23/04/2017 21:25, TMS320 wrote:

On 23/04/17 17:43, JNugent wrote:

Though you obviously didn't know it, car-theft is actually rare in
the the UK and countries with similar systems. It happens, but it
isn't at all common.


You're rather naive if you think plates have much to do with it.



It is not common because cars have had electronic keys for the last 20
years and can't be hot wired; the key (or code) has to be obtained first.


Nothing whatever to do with it.

What is usually (inaccurately) termed a "stolen" car has not been stolen
at all, because "steal" has a specific meaning in law which is not
satisfied by joyrising, etc..

That's why there is an offence of "taking away without the owner's
consent" - it's because the essential elements of the crime of theft do
not exist in such cases and therefore cannot be proven.

I had two cars TWOCd in the 1970s and got them both back when notified
by the police (guess how they traced me?).

If TWOCing has been reduced by better security devices, that's great,
but reducing TWOC offences is not the same thing as reducing the number
of thefts.


Odd how the number of cars 'stolen' has fallen to a record (50 year ) low.

69,547 in 2016, I wonder why the 2014 figure of 231,323 was chosen to quote?

Neither of the above figures are quantified as to type of
misappropriation. There are 36 million cars on the road, so last year
0.2 percent were stolen.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...-year-low.html

Meanwhile keeping it cycling:
reported theft of bicycles is around 370,000 per year (note reported,
the true figure would be much higher) from 2014-15 article:
http://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/412/bi...ime-statistics

No-one knows how many bicycles are 'on the road' But it seems likely
there are less than 36 million, so the rate of theft is much higher than
for cars.


 




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