Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Vitaliy on July 8, 2013 at 4:59am

Bait them, bait them like fish

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on July 8, 2013 at 5:02am

Just get them before they mess with my bike, which I'll be parking there when it's assembled.

Gabe said:

That's what's great about thieves. They are simple. They have been successful so they will return. I don't have to search I just have to wait.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by El Dorado on July 9, 2013 at 1:10pm

How about leaving a nice new Brooks saddle as bait. Kinda like that show "Bait Car". Then Gabe can swing into action with a broomstick.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Vilda on July 9, 2013 at 1:10pm

Tri, if you are a student you need to organize others to have Depaul make safer areas. They have SO much money (student money) they could spend for safer bike parking. Instead it's normal University business of buying property and making money.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jason on July 9, 2013 at 5:01pm

a few weeks ago I was locking my bike up and I noticed two guys showing a bike to a girl (looked like a Craigslist transaction)....when I came back out from the store one of them was just looking at me as I was unlocking my bike, so I gave him a head nod and said something like "whats up". 

He came over and nervously said "ahh man, you thought I was going to steal your bike?"

I wasnt thinking anything like that, but at that point I knew he was funny style. 

We chatted for a bit, and he did/said two odd things.

1.  He showed me the bike he was riding and asked how much it was worth.

2.  Told me to watch my bike because a lot of bikes get stolen around here.

I wonder if these guys were the same ones the OP is looking for.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Julia 3.5/7.5 mi on July 10, 2013 at 4:44am

Gabe - I don't know if it's the same guys, but a white dude struck at the Reskin yesterday. Took a very identifiable white single speed with green rear wheel and grabbed the front wheel off one of my student's bikes to ride it away. 2:31pm on the "Reskin - outside fixed" and "Reskin - out fire escape" cameras. (Let me know if you need the IP address of each or if name is sufficient to pull it up). The worst part is there were 2 guys that sat and watched this guy disassemble stuff until he got a rideable bike. One of the witnesses is a guy that locks up here almost every day and I have my suspicions about the 3 of them being in on it together.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on July 10, 2013 at 4:56am

The thing that bothers me most about this is that individual bike thefts (or thefts of parts) appear not to be that big a deal, at least for the police.  Taken as a whole, however, there is a huge volume of stolen bikes/bike parts circulating around.  Bike lanes and other infrastructure are great to have.  I'd like to know what the city and police are doing to reduce theft though. There certainly doesn't seem to be much visible effort.

Edit: There was a flurry of activity several months ago when BART out in California posted pix of bikes and saddles they had recovered.  That page is gone from their site now, but thankfully the Way Back Machine snapped a copy:

http://web.archive.org/web/20130117152753/http://www.bart.gov/about...

There are a number of decent bikes, but a few stand out.  The first is a Fuso (made by Dave Moulton). About two-thirds of the way down is a no-name silver bike with what looks like Campy NR components.  A couple below that is most of a Terry.  In the saddle photo at the bottom you can see several Brooks or Brooks-lookalike saddles.

These people are going after good stuff when they can get it.  I hope the Chicago PD doesn't think all the bikes that are stolen were originally sold at Wally World and are worthless.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on July 10, 2013 at 7:26am

I agree. If the current administration really wants to achieve its goal of getting people out of cars and onto bikes, they really should make it clear to the police that bike theft (parts or otherwise) needs to be taken seriously.

At a higher level, something like the increased penalties for crimes around schools and parks(?) needs to be implemented for crimes against the environment (theft of solar panels or bikes etc). 

Skip Montanaro 12mi said:

The thing that bothers me most about this is that individual bike thefts (or thefts of parts) appear not to be that big a deal, at least for the police.  Taken as a whole, however, there is a huge volume of stolen bikes/bike parts circulating around.  Bike lanes and other infrastructure are great to have.  I'd like to know what the city and police are doing to reduce theft though. There certainly doesn't seem to be much visible effort.

Edit: There was a flurry of activity several months ago when BART out in California posted pix of bikes and saddles they had recovered.  That page is gone from their site now, but thankfully the Way Back Machine snapped a copy:

http://web.archive.org/web/20130117152753/http://www.bart.gov/about...

There are a number of decent bikes, but a few stand out.  The first is a Fuso (made by Dave Moulton). About two-thirds of the way down is a no-name silver bike with what looks like Campy NR components.  A couple below that is most of a Terry.  In the saddle photo at the bottom you can see several Brooks or Brooks-lookalike saddles.

These people are going after good stuff when they can get it.  I hope the Chicago PD doesn't think all the bikes that are stolen were originally sold at Wally World and are worthless.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on July 10, 2013 at 8:27am

I still think the priority for police (or administrations) has to be crimes against people as opposed to crimes against property. 7/3-7/7: 70 shot, 11 fatalities? Under those circumstances, I'm fine with the CPD showing a little less concern for the occasional bike or bike part disappearing. 

There is a great deal that "the bike community*" could do to reduce bike theft and increase recovery rates, if they took some responsibility for the problem.

Fewer than 1/3 of the reports to the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry contain a serial number. Despite our efforts to make people aware of this and even put a mechanism in place for registering bikes BEFORE they're stolen, blah, blah, blah..., that percentage has remained relatively constant. Most police departments consider a serial number as being the single most important piece of information for identifying an item as stolen property as well as reuniting that piece of stolen property with its owner. 

20% of reports to the CSBR are bikes which weren't locked. NO LOCK includes the universe of bikes left in backyards, on porches, in vestibules of condos and apartments, in garages, in front of stores (only for a minute, heh-heh), in storage rooms, etc., but STILL, a fifth of the bikes being stolen aren't locked! This just in! Unlocked bikes are really easy to steal.

35% of reports to the CSBR are bikes which were locked only with a cable lock (cable with padlock, keyed cable lock, combination cable lock). Might as well secure your bike with a bow. 12-inch bolt cutters get through cable locks in less time than it takes the owner to open the lock with their key or combination.

So you want to cut bike theft by more than half overnight? Write down your serial number. Don't leave your bike unlocked. Don't lock your bike with a cable lock. 

*however you define that term.

Tony Adams 7 mi (dirtbag hipstr) said:

I agree. If the current administration really wants to achieve its goal of getting people out of cars and onto bikes, they really should make it clear to the police that bike theft (parts or otherwise) needs to be taken seriously.

At a higher level, something like the increased penalties for crimes around schools and parks(?) needs to be implemented for crimes against the environment (theft of solar panels or bikes etc). 

Skip Montanaro 12mi said:

The thing that bothers me most about this is that individual bike thefts (or thefts of parts) appear not to be that big a deal, at least for the police.  Taken as a whole, however, there is a huge volume of stolen bikes/bike parts circulating around.  Bike lanes and other infrastructure are great to have.  I'd like to know what the city and police are doing to reduce theft though. There certainly doesn't seem to be much visible effort.

Edit: There was a flurry of activity several months ago when BART out in California posted pix of bikes and saddles they had recovered.  That page is gone from their site now, but thankfully the Way Back Machine snapped a copy:

http://web.archive.org/web/20130117152753/http://www.bart.gov/about...

There are a number of decent bikes, but a few stand out.  The first is a Fuso (made by Dave Moulton). About two-thirds of the way down is a no-name silver bike with what looks like Campy NR components.  A couple below that is most of a Terry.  In the saddle photo at the bottom you can see several Brooks or Brooks-lookalike saddles.

These people are going after good stuff when they can get it.  I hope the Chicago PD doesn't think all the bikes that are stolen were originally sold at Wally World and are worthless.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Will on July 10, 2013 at 8:37am

Once again, Kevin is the voice of logic and reason. One of my bikes was recently stolen- unlocked from our garage. It was the basic winter commuter, and while I filed a police report because I had to for the insurance claim, I don't expect the police to actually go around looking for my bike. That's ridiculous. I'd much rather they spend their time keeping people safe in Chicago.

The replacement ride, I won't be so careless about.

Kevin C said:

I still think the priority for police (or administrations) has to be crimes against people as opposed to crimes against property. 7/3-7/7: 70 shot, 11 fatalities? Under those circumstances, I'm fine with the CPD showing a little less concern for the occasional bike or bike part disappearing. 

There is a great deal that "the bike community*" could do to reduce bike theft and increase recovery rates, if they took some responsibility for the problem.

Fewer than 1/3 of the reports to the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry contain a serial number. Despite our efforts to make people aware of this and even put a mechanism in place for registering bikes BEFORE they're stolen, blah, blah, blah..., that percentage has remained relatively constant. Most police departments consider a serial number as being the single most important piece of information for identifying an item as stolen property as well as reuniting that piece of stolen property with its owner. 

20% of reports to the CSBR are bikes which weren't locked. NO LOCK includes the universe of bikes left in backyards, on porches, in vestibules of condos and apartments, in garages, in front of stores (only for a minute, heh-heh), in storage rooms, etc., but STILL, a fifth of the bikes being stolen aren't locked! This just in! Unlocked bikes are really easy to steal.

35% of reports to the CSBR are bikes which were locked only with a cable lock (cable with padlock, keyed cable lock, combination cable lock). Might as well secure your bike with a bow. 12-inch bolt cutters get through cable locks in less time than it takes the owner to open the lock with their key or combination.

So you want to cut bike theft by more than half overnight? Write down your serial number. Don't leave your bike unlocked. Don't lock your bike with a cable lock. 

*however you define that term.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on July 10, 2013 at 8:53am

I suppose I should just let this go.  I don't see that investigating homicides and property theft are mutually exclusive activities.  I realize the police need to prioritize their activities, however I imagine there are sections of the police department which investigate all sorts of low-level crime: shoplifting, purse snatching, pickpockets. How is bicycle theft less important than that other stuff?  Are cyclists supposed to set up their own stings, capture video of the perps, then track them to their destination?  I suspect not.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Will on July 10, 2013 at 9:02am

Muggings and purse snatchings are examples of robbery- the victim is at the scene, and a threat or potential for harm. Shoplifting is larceny, like stealing a bicycle from a rack or a car from a parking lot. I doubt shoplifting is actually investigated, unless it's a large amount of money. Police will come and arrest a shoplifter if store personnel has detained the suspect, but they won't actually investigate a shoplifting.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next ›
• Page