I changed my mind-I blame the victim

I watched enough National Geographic films as a kid to know you never want to be the oldest or sickest antelope when the lionesses are hungry. Between May 26th and June 3rd, 39 bikes were reported to the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry.* Nine days at the rate of  4.3 per day. 59% of those bikes either weren’t locked, or were locked with some form of cable lock. Only 12 of those reported knew their serial number (less than a third).

 

Not necessary to convince me “if they really want to steal your bike, there’s nothing you can do…” Bike owners in Chicago aren’t even making it hard. Maybe we do have legions of highly skilled, professional bike thieves standing at the ready with cordless power tools, waiting to swoop down on properly locked bikes, but at this rate, we’ll never know. From a thief’s perspective, Chicago is, at worst, a bolt cutter kind of town.

 

If you don’t lock your bike and leave it in a common area that other people can access; if you lock your bike with some form of cable lock as your only security device; if you lock your bike to a fence or a sucker pole, you may not know it yet, but you are the slowest antelope in the herd. You are the low hanging fruit. You are the victim waiting to happen. And you won’t have to wait for long.

 

*

39 bikes

unlocked/locked to itself                   10

cable                                              13

newer u-lock/heavy duty chain            8

item locked to defeated                      8

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 3, 2011 at 4:11pm

Don't forget about riding a ripe low-hanging fruit by tempting them with an expensive/fancy bike they can sell for a lot of money on the street.

 

Ride an old clunker and lock it up when you are out and bring it in over night and you will probably be fine short of nuisance theft like someone stealing your light(s) or computer if you forget to snap them off.  I'm always paranoid about my stainless Kleen Kanteen and sport cap if i leave it on the bike.  That almost $30 worth of stuff right there that someone could just YOINK! and get away with in .4 seconds flat.

Permalink Reply by magomawe on June 3, 2011 at 6:03pm
I pass by a bike locked to the same sucker pole with only the front tire and frame u-locked everyday.  And everyday I think, someone's gonna steal that nice rear wheel, or get the whole bike.  Needless to say I wasn't surprised when the rear wheel finally disappeared tonight.  I do feel bad for the person though.
Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on June 4, 2011 at 2:04am

I saw it yesterday. Nice Hybrid left outside a McDonalds/convenience store with a nice U-lock in a fancy holder on the bike.

 

Kickstand down just waiting for a 3 second window to be ridden away.

 

I was tempted to move it around the corner then wait for the guy and give it back and tell him it took me 3 seconds.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 4, 2011 at 2:25am

Funny but Yikes!

 

I'm afraid to touch other people's stuff.  Just the other day I saw a bike locked to an old "as a convenience to bicyclists" meter at a weird angle hanging from the U-lock and the back wheel hanging off the curb in such a way that it was sticking into the road 2 feet.    I carefully tipped it back up and rotated it 90'degrees so that some car parallel parking wouldn't take it out.  I like working on bikes but I don't need the work that badly.  Still I felt dirty touching someone else's stuff even though it was for the best in the end and I was very careful handling it so as not to even make a noise much less chip or scratch it.

Mike Zumwalt said:

 

I was tempted to move it around the corner then wait for the guy and give it back and tell him it took me 3 seconds.

Permalink Reply by K Selberis on June 4, 2011 at 6:19am

Kevin,

I completely agree with your point. And I am one of your "slow antelopes."

When I made my CSBR report, I wasn't about to waste people's time with the intricacies of my situation. I just wanted to get the photo and the description up pronto in case anyone happened to see my bike on the street or for sale.

I knew I'd have to dig for my serial number, and since my bike is pretty unique-looking, I said to hell with it, one wouldn't need to check the serial to know that bike was mine.

Sure, I'm upset with myself for being trusting. I've worked (and kept bicycles) at the same establishment for 12 years, and nothing like this has ever happened to me or any of my co-workers. We bring our bikes inside rather than leaving them locked up on the bike racks because we do understand how crafty thieves can be.

And, yes, it's a nasty wake-up call. I doubt anyone who has their bike stolen unlocked/cable-locked/whatever would ever repeat that mode of security. So don't worry about blasting them, because they know it. You think I don't feel like a dumb, trusting buffoon? I do. And I'm out of a bicycle I REALLY enjoyed on top of it.

I didn't know of this site before my bike was stolen, but I'm so glad a friend turned me on to it. There are some wonderful, wonderful resources here. I really wish I had discovered this while I still had my bike.

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on June 4, 2011 at 6:56am

Hey K-

I really do hate bike theft and bike thieves. I have spent the better part of the past year trying to reduce bike theft in Chicago. I am one of the participants in a group on the chainlink which has had some success recovering stolen bikes. I am one of the admins for the CSBR (and I approved your entry when it arrived). I have addressed the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council about bike theft, have met with law enforcement members, and have approached potential corporate sponsors regarding reduction of bike theft in Chicago. If you can believe it, the CSBR recovery rates are up 300% year over year, but they remain abysmally low. The CSBR has added a link to the website to enable people to register their bikes with serial number and photo BEFORE they're stolen. 

 

If I didn't care about people's bikes being stolen, I would not have devoted this much of my time trying to reduce its incidence. But just looking at the gross numbers, there's a limit to what can be done after the fact. If people really want to reduce bike theft, the focus has to move toward education, awareness and prevention. Everyone needs to take some responsibility for this problem. I feel bad for everyone who has a bike stolen. I am very sorry YOUR bike was stolen. I just wish there was a way to increase awareness before people become victims. Taking reasonable precautions to prevent theft seems like a good first step.


K Selberis said:

Kevin,

I completely agree with your point. And I am one of your "slow antelopes."

When I made my CSBR report, I wasn't about to waste people's time with the intricacies of my situation. I just wanted to get the photo and the description up pronto in case anyone happened to see my bike on the street or for sale.

I knew I'd have to dig for my serial number, and since my bike is pretty unique-looking, I said to hell with it, one wouldn't need to check the serial to know that bike was mine.

Sure, I'm upset with myself for being trusting. I've worked (and kept bicycles) at the same establishment for 12 years, and nothing like this has ever happened to me or any of my co-workers. We bring our bikes inside rather than leaving them locked up on the bike racks because we do understand how crafty thieves can be.

And, yes, it's a nasty wake-up call. I doubt anyone who has their bike stolen unlocked/cable-locked/whatever would ever repeat that mode of security. So don't worry about blasting them, because they know it. You think I don't feel like a dumb, trusting buffoon? I do. And I'm out of a bicycle I REALLY enjoyed on top of it.

I didn't know of this site before my bike was stolen, but I'm so glad a friend turned me on to it. There are some wonderful, wonderful resources here. I really wish I had discovered this while I still had my bike.

Permalink Reply by K Selberis on June 4, 2011 at 7:33am

Kevin,

Thanks for your reply. And, I totally agree with this post, too!

I can see from your perspective how frustrating it must be to deal with reports from people who are lazy about properly securing their bikes. In my situation (and my point of view at the time), I thought I was in the right.

I agree that education, awareness, and prevention are important. 

I was talking to someone at my local bike shop about putting together a clinic of sorts at the bar where I work some Sunday afternoon (they had a sort of party night a few months ago and it was a lot of fun). If you would be at all interested in collaborating on something, please let me know. Perhaps we could plan a benefit show for one of the organizations? Or set up an information table during one of the busy free Monday shows we have (they typically draw lots of bike riders; the racks are frequently overflowing). We could register bikes on the spot, since the kids ride them there! Maybe that's something you already do, and I'm sorry if I'm ignorant to that.

Do any of your organizations have flyers or anything I could put out by the Readers, etc? Like I said, I didn't know about this site before a friend turned me onto it AFTER my bike was stolen. But there is so much great information here, I wish I'd found it a long time ago.

If there is anything I can do to help, I'm offering. Thank you for all the hard work and personal time you put in.



Kevin Conway said:

Hey K-

I really do hate bike theft and bike thieves. I have spent the better part of the past year trying to reduce bike theft in Chicago. I am one of the participants in a group on the chainlink which has had some success recovering stolen bikes. I am one of the admins for the CSBR (and I approved your entry when it arrived). I have addressed the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council about bike theft, have met with law enforcement members, and have approached potential corporate sponsors regarding reducing bike theft in the Chicago. If you can believe it, the CSBR recovery rates are up 300% year over year, but they remain abysmally low. The CSBR has added a link to the website to enable people to register their bikes with serial number and photo BEFORE they're stolen. 

 

If I didn't care about people's bikes being stolen, I would not have devoted this much of my time trying to reduce its incidence. But just looking at the gross numbers, there's a limit to what can be done after the fact. If people really want to reduce bike theft, the focus has to move toward education, awareness and prevention. Everyone needs to take some responsibility for this problem. I feel bad for everyone who has a bike stolen. I am very sorry YOUR bike was stolen. I just wish there was a way to increase awareness before people become victims.


K Selberis said:

Kevin,

I completely agree with your point. And I am one of your "slow antelopes."

When I made my CSBR report, I wasn't about to waste people's time with the intricacies of my situation. I just wanted to get the photo and the description up pronto in case anyone happened to see my bike on the street or for sale.

I knew I'd have to dig for my serial number, and since my bike is pretty unique-looking, I said to hell with it, one wouldn't need to check the serial to know that bike was mine.

Sure, I'm upset with myself for being trusting. I've worked (and kept bicycles) at the same establishment for 12 years, and nothing like this has ever happened to me or any of my co-workers. We bring our bikes inside rather than leaving them locked up on the bike racks because we do understand how crafty thieves can be.

And, yes, it's a nasty wake-up call. I doubt anyone who has their bike stolen unlocked/cable-locked/whatever would ever repeat that mode of security. So don't worry about blasting them, because they know it. You think I don't feel like a dumb, trusting buffoon? I do. And I'm out of a bicycle I REALLY enjoyed on top of it.

I didn't know of this site before my bike was stolen, but I'm so glad a friend turned me on to it. There are some wonderful, wonderful resources here. I really wish I had discovered this while I still had my bike.

Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on June 4, 2011 at 12:58pm

Interestingly. Down here in the burbs, at the Metra station I see a bike with a flimsy cable lock next to one double u-locked, next to mine with is mini u-locked with locking skewers.

 

Today I noticed a bike at a mall secured with a rope. It was just tied to a pole.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 4, 2011 at 4:22pm
This keeps the honest people honest but doesn't do a thing to stop the knotty people...

Adam "Cezar" Jenkins said:

Today I noticed a bike at a mall secured with a rope. It was just tied to a pole.

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on June 4, 2011 at 7:51pm

Not everyone knows what constitutes a good lock or where to buy one. 

 

Before you start blaming the victim, understand how the person could or couldn't come to know the proper locking techniques, what makes a good lock (or what makes a lock less likely to be defeated), how to identify secure locking fixtures, and on and on. 

 

Simply showing someone how they can easily fit a Kryptonite gray u-lock around their front wheel AND the frame could mean the difference to the wheel being stolen without the frame. 

 

Bike manufacturers and bike retailers (meaning Target, Walmart, and the local bike shop) should both take an interest in educating their customers. I believe the cynical view of what I just said would be that the manufacturers and retailers want bikes to be stolen so they can sell more bikes. This would be bullshit and I ask that no one mention this again. What likely happens after a bike theft is that the person stops riding a bike. Stops buying accessories. 

 

What can we do as individuals?

We can continue to show and tell the best locking techniques and devices to our friends and family. 

 

What can we do as Chainlink members?

We can stop blaming victims. 

 

What can we do as customers of transit* and citizens of cities?

We can demand safer (read: reduce conditions that invite theft) bicycle parking facilities. This may mean electronic bike lockers, cameras monitored by staff, or better lighting. 

We can also change the police/enforcement culture to care more about bike theft. We can demand that the police track this information (they don't - there's no special crime/theft code to do so and they won't spend the time to read the narratives to do analysis on the "problem"). 

 

I don't have all the ideas, but I believe that education is more important than being despondent and pessimistic. 

*I mention transit because the rail stations represent the locations from where the most number of stolen bikes are reported on CSBR. 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 5, 2011 at 4:19am

Questionable cause fallacy combined with Gamblers fallicy and a demand to end debate by declaring unilateral victory.  

 

Sweet!


Steven Vance said:

 I believe the cynical view of what I just said would be that the manufacturers and retailers want bikes to be stolen so they can sell more bikes. This would be bullshit and I ask that no one mention this again. What likely happens after a bike theft is that the person stops riding a bike. Stops buying accessories. [Citation Needed] 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on June 5, 2011 at 7:04am

No citations needed.

This thread, including the original post and my own comments, is extremely anecdotal. 

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