Stolen Bike Registry - do this when your bike gets stolen

"With all the stolen bike posts lately (and no one thinking "I wonder if there's something under Useful Links for this."), I think it's well past time to make a sticky about the Stolen Bike Registry"

- Tank-Ridin' Ryan

Well said Ryan.

http://chicago.stolenbike.org/

Done and done.

And sticky too.

Cheers - Lee Diamond

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lamar on July 15, 2012 at 6:31pm

About the City, I've used a cable & U- Lock since 2007.
Only had one incident, where theyd got the u-lock.
We live in a 20 unit building with shared indoor heated parking garage.

The very next day after ours was nicked, my neighbor's was stolen and 2 wks later another neighbors.
It's extremely violating. They are cherry picking the pricey ones here and leaving less unlocked bikes untouched!

The Auto Body shop employees across our alley would have any tool needed to get what they want, should they follow in after a car opens the door

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Permalink Reply by Lamar on July 16, 2012 at 4:17am

NotoriousDUG,

Yes, my informants refused the reward from point of first contact.
The morning of the recovery they'd even drove back out to meet us, concerned we might not find it.
I again offered reward to them twice and they only asked that we "pay it forward"

As for Police Involvement...

July 8, Upon 7am arrival at SwapOrama we spoke w onsite plain clothes officer to inform him our bike had been sited and we intended to collect it. He advised we call swapOrama office number he provided and not personally approach the seller when located. Once spotted, we noted the lot number and one of us kept a visual eye on the bike from an inconspicuous distance. The other called 911 as well as the office number provided and went to personally find an officer. Cops were there within 10 minutes to review folder of our photos & the police report we'd filed on May 25. The more evidence of ownership you can bring the better, especially without a serial number. Police approached seller with that evidence, reclaimed the bike and delivered it to us at our vantage point on location.

h' said:

Agreed-- while there is some sporadic evidence of lock picking going on out there, the greatest likelihood is an angle grinder, against which your lock only requires an extra 20 seconds or so compared to a 'basic' U-lock.

Adam, did your informants refuse your $500 reward? Was there police involvement?

notoriousDUG said:

Cordless angle grinder can have that lock cut in just about one minute.

Daniel G said:

Had no idea theft was so bad here. Bought a NY Fahgettaboudit mini, here's hoping most bike thieves cannot pick a lock, which seems a damned sight easier than actually trying to saw this steel brick.

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Permalink Reply by Lamar on July 16, 2012 at 6:01am

already contacted.
its invaluable.
shame is news there hasnt been updated since 2009.

cheers

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Permalink Reply by Katie Smith on July 26, 2012 at 5:20pm

I've scrolled several pages looking for the next step to after you've registered your bike, so feel free to just point me in that direction if my question is already answered. But, what do you do if you find your bike? On E-Bay, craigslist, backpage, swap meet or just driving around town? Do you call the cops--will they come? Self-recovery?

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Permalink Reply by Katie Smith on July 27, 2012 at 1:58am

h': yes, I did and I think I've located it, but I'm not sure how to proceed. I'll try to PM you with other details.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Struble on July 27, 2012 at 6:18am

The best idea I've heard is to carry around an extra lock and lock it up if you spot it. Then call the cops. That way they can't flee on it.

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Permalink Reply by Lamar on July 27, 2012 at 11:52am

regarding my recent theft and recovery...
A) we were sure to file theft report with the police. serial # always helps.
B) reported the theft to stolenbikeregistery, providing pictures, details. I also included a reward as insurance deductible/ replacement costs were high.
C) post on FACEBOOK. let's face it, people now seem to think it doesn't exist unless it's on facebook.
Post pic/detail/stolenbikeregistry link on your wall, and in bike groups/pages such as critical mass etc
D) when fielding emails from tipsters, i suggested if they found the bike locked up to remove wheel skewers and/or use their lock if they had one and call me... I never insisted they confront "owner."
E) keep pictures, details, police reports, and any printouts of correspondence/ online posts in a file/folder.
F) if found, contact 911 with location, info and provide that file/folder of items on site.

Again I would not suggest confronting "owner" if you do not have to.

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Permalink Reply by Lamar on July 28, 2012 at 7:21am

sorry, really wasnt asking for a critique.
just providing the information in which i recovered my bike after 7 long wks.

it can happen to you

good luck to all

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Permalink Reply by Katie Smith on July 30, 2012 at 9:40am

We did recover the bike (it was my husband's). We had done all the appropriate things: filed a police report, did a listing on stolen bike registry, and started monitoring Craigslist and ebay, etc. A listing for the bike style appeared on Craigslist. It was a stock picture and a generic description of the bike, which was what tipped us off. We used a newly-created email account to arrange to meet the seller the next day at a busy train station.

My husband walked by the seller, could verify by sight that it was his bike and turned around the corner and called the cops. The seller was obviously not the original thief, but he had purchased the bike off a street corner. In email, he had tried to pass the bike off as one he had had awhile, He did seem rather scared by the process, so hopefully that's one less person willing to try buy stolen bikes off of street corners.

Husband had the police report, his original sales receipt (with serial number) and any other paperwork the cops could want, so they processed the bike and released it to him.

I'm not sure that exact situation can be replicated, but perhaps some of it can be useful to someone in recovering their bike.