Kenneth Robertson was arrested again (1/11/12)...

and charged with Felony Bike Theft. Press Release is below. This should make it much more difficult to beat the two prior felony bike theft counts which were brought against him in July. We love the Wilmette police department.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Courtright on January 13, 2012 at 10:29am

Wilmette is pretty aggressive (usually justified) about enforcing traffic laws with respect to cyclists, so any "Thanks" we can send is a good PR move in my opinion.  I sent a quick message and quickly received a nice response, with promises that my message would be passed on to the detectives.

Permalink Reply by Vilda on January 13, 2012 at 4:31pm

I got a response from the Chief via e-mail as well. Good stuff! ;-) Send your thanks! ;-)

Permalink Reply by Vince Zaworski on January 14, 2012 at 6:16am

As a former service manager I can confirm that a note of thanks is the way to go. It lasts forever, unlike pizza. The police need to know their work is appreciated. I do wish they hadn't mentioned the tool that was used.

I wonder if PD's that don't take bike theft seriously are aware of the value of some of the bikes that are being stolen. It's not the $100 bikes that are disappearing.

Permalink Reply by Vilda on January 14, 2012 at 6:22am

Vince, some of the bikes are low value. The crooks have a "look"  that they go for. And when we went down to the swap there were a lot of bikes that were similar cause they know what they can fence. Value was a problem on pressing charges when we recovered bikes. ;-(

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on January 14, 2012 at 6:37am

It should not be about value anyway. Bike theft is a crime against the planet, not just the individual bike owner. It should be treated accordingly.

Permalink Reply by Vince Zaworski on January 14, 2012 at 7:42am

Point taken. I should have said that it's not just the $100 bikes that are being stolen. It's true that most big buck bikes would never be left unattended. When I posted I was thinking of the guy I met that had his 1 day old $3500 bike stolen within an hour of locking it up outside his office. The cops didn't believe a bike could cost that much.

It's true that thieves target what they can unload quickly and they do also consider the $500 threshold that can up charge from misdemeanor to felony.

I myself am more worried about my '78 Panasonic Sport  than my 4 yr old hybrid cause hybrids just ain't hot as old road bikes. And the old Panny has more "value" to me to cause I love it and it will cost me much more to replace it than the $50 in parts it took to get this one rolling.


Gabe said:

Vince, some of the bikes are low value. The crooks have a "look"  that they go for. And when we went down to the swap there were a lot of bikes that were similar cause they know what they can fence. Value was a problem on pressing charges when we recovered bikes. ;-(

Permalink Reply by Vince Zaworski on January 14, 2012 at 7:55am

 

True but the law puts a dollar value on the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony.

The point I was poorly trying to make was that some bikes cost as much as some of the cars people drive and certainly have as much "value" to a non auto owner as a car does to it's owner. It sometimes seems that police treat bike theft as "just a bike" whereas a car theft is a "serious" crime and it's this perception that I was referring to.
Tony Adams said:

It should not be about value anyway. Bike theft is a crime against the planet, not just the individual bike owner. It should be treated accordingly.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on January 14, 2012 at 8:05am

Gabe, 

Could you give us a feeling for what this "look" is?  I'm interested in what kinds of bikes are the most likely to be stolen and if my bikes are in the "danger zone."

Could you show us all a photo of what we are talking about this "look?"

Gabe said:

Vince, some of the bikes are low value. The crooks have a "look"  that they go for. And when we went down to the swap there were a lot of bikes that were similar cause they know what they can fence. Value was a problem on pressing charges when we recovered bikes. ;-(

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on January 14, 2012 at 8:07am

+1

James BlackHeron said:

Gabe, 

Could you give us a feeling for what this "look" is?  I'm interested in what kinds of bikes are the most likely to be stolen and if my bikes are in the "danger zone."

Could you show us all a photo of what we are talking about this "look?"

Gabe said:

Vince, some of the bikes are low value. The crooks have a "look"  that they go for. And when we went down to the swap there were a lot of bikes that were similar cause they know what they can fence. Value was a problem on pressing charges when we recovered bikes. ;-(

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 14, 2012 at 8:15am

Comfort bikes, hybrid type stuff, shows up a lot.

James BlackHeron said:

Gabe, 

Could you give us a feeling for what this "look" is?  I'm interested in what kinds of bikes are the most likely to be stolen and if my bikes are in the "danger zone."

Could you show us all a photo of what we are talking about this "look?"

Gabe said:

Vince, some of the bikes are low value. The crooks have a "look"  that they go for. And when we went down to the swap there were a lot of bikes that were similar cause they know what they can fence. Value was a problem on pressing charges when we recovered bikes. ;-(

Permalink Reply by Vilda on January 14, 2012 at 8:29am

And Name brands sell. They know Trek well. Schwinn, etc... They can say 100 bux to you when you walk by and know it will go.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on January 14, 2012 at 10:51am

So a converted 80''s chromed Ross Mt. Hood mountain bike with an 8-speed SRAM IGH plus a dyno/brake hub in front with a Brooks, Northroad bars, cork grips, full fenders, rear racks, and wired lighting might be considered a comfort bike?

Theft magnet or not? 

Currently using an OnGuard Pitbull U-lock + 3/8" super-heavy cable for the other wheel but I"m thinking of just carrying around a second Pitbull lock.

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