Get your stolen bike back

Mark T

Just had an interesting talk with a policeman.

Tags, it seems, are merely a deterrent to theft. The problem with them is
that when plod spots an oik with a too-nice-for-him bike he doesn't have
the scanner on him and will prolly not confiscate the bike on the off
chance it's nicked.

What they do when they suspect a bike is stolen is flip it over and give
the frame number to the control room. If that frame number has been
reported stolen the bike is returned to you. Woo!

If you don't make a note of the frame number all the policeman has to go on
is the make and model. This will return oodles of possibles and will take
hours to go through and check. It won't happen. You won't get your bike
back. If you've given them the frame number, you will.

The frame number is normally underneath the bottom bracket, I've just made
a note of mine.

Helen Deborah Vecht

I've had several bikes stolen.
Most were reported to the police.
Several were also Postcoded.
I knew the frame numbers.
It never made any difference.
I never saw anything again.
Many bikes are exported wholesale by gangs of crooks.

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk
Edgware.

Mark T

Helen Deborah Vecht writtificated

> I've had several bikes stolen.
> Most were reported to the police.
> I knew the frame numbers.
> It never made any difference.

You can have some chance or no chance <shrugs>

Pete Biggs

Mark T wrote:
> Just had an interesting talk with a policeman.
>
> Tags, it seems, are merely a deterrent to theft. The problem with
> them is that when plod spots an oik with a too-nice-for-him bike he
> doesn't have the scanner on him and will prolly not confiscate the
> bike on the off chance it's nicked.
>
> What they do when they suspect a bike is stolen is flip it over and
> give the frame number to the control room. If that frame number has
> been reported stolen the bike is returned to you. Woo!
>
> If you don't make a note of the frame number all the policeman has to
> go on is the make and model. This will return oodles of possibles
> and will take hours to go through and check. It won't happen. You
> won't get your bike back. If you've given them the frame number, you
> will.
>
> The frame number is normally underneath the bottom bracket, I've just
> made a note of mine.


Stolen bikes get abandoned and handed-in quite often. I don't expect the
police to go round scanning random bikes on the street, but I do expect them
to scan bikes that are recovered in the police station. Whether they
actually bother or not, I dunno.

The sticker is a little bit of a deterrent anyway. I got some cheap "Stop
Theft" kits off Fleabay a while ago. They use the same system and database
as the more expensive Datatag ones.

~PB

vernon

"Mark T"
<pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid> wrote
in message news:Xns9AC8EEF5EC3ECwibbled@130.133.1.4...
> Helen Deborah Vecht writtificated
>
>> I've had several bikes stolen.
>> Most were reported to the police.
>> I knew the frame numbers.
>> It never made any difference.
>
> You can have some chance or no chance <shrugs>

None of the six post coded, frame number recorded bikes that have been
stolen from members of my family members have ever been returned so it looks
like no chance.... shrug of resignation....

bornfree

On 25 Jun, 21:20, Mark T
<pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid>
wrote:
> Just had an interesting talk with a policeman.
>
> Tags, it seems, are merely a deterrent to theft. The problem with them is
> that when plod spots an oik with a too-nice-for-him bike he doesn't have
> the scanner on him and will prolly not confiscate the bike on the off
> chance it's nicked.
>
> What they do when they suspect a bike is stolen is flip it over and give
> the frame number to the control room. If that frame number has been
> reported stolen the bike is returned to you.

Funny - I just had 2 police officers visit me Thursday afternoon after
I complained about (kids) bike theft. They said they checked the frame
numbers of 2 stolen bikes but couldn't confiscate them, because the
bikes hadn't been reported as stolen.

Straight after they left, I went outside and made a note of my bike's
frame number.

Email it to yourself in case you lose it.

didds

On Jun 25, 10:40*pm, Helen Deborah Vecht <helenve...@zetnet.co.uk>
wrote:

> Many bikes are exported wholesale by gangs of crooks.

... and those that aren't are sold on ebay or car boots probably.

didds

Mark T

Pete Biggs writtificated

> I don't expect the
> police to go round scanning random bikes on the street

Quite, but they *do* check frame numbers of random bikes in the street[1].


[1] Well, frame numbers of nice bikes ridden by oiks and known thieves.

Pete Biggs

Mark T wrote:
> Pete Biggs writtificated
>
>> I don't expect the
>> police to go round scanning random bikes on the street
>
> Quite, but they *do* check frame numbers of random bikes in the
> street[1].
>
> [1] Well, frame numbers of nice bikes ridden by oiks and known
> thieves.

I agree it's a good idea to make a note of your frame numbers. Your bike
could end up in a police station even if no bikes were checked in the
street. It happened to one of my bikes that was stolen.

~PB

Helen Deborah Vecht

Mark T
<pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid>typed


> Pete Biggs writtificated

> > I don't expect the
> > police to go round scanning random bikes on the street

> Quite, but they *do* check frame numbers of random bikes in the street[1].


> [1] Well, frame numbers of nice bikes ridden by oiks and known thieves.

No police person ever checked my frame number, in 25 years of cycling,
sometimes as much as 11,000 miles per year.

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk
Edgware.

squeaker

On 26 Jun, 10:35, Helen Deborah Vecht <helenve...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote:
> Mark T
> <pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid>typed
>
> > Pete Biggs writtificated
> > > I don't expect the
> > > police to go round scanning random bikes on the street
> > Quite, but they *do* check frame numbers of random bikes in the street[1].
> > [1] Well, frame numbers of nice bikes ridden by oiks and known thieves.
>
> No police person ever checked my frame number, in 25 years of cycling,
> sometimes as much as 11,000 miles per year.
>
> --
> Helen D. Vecht: helenve...@zetnet.co.uk
> Edgware.

Aha, so are you:
a)an oik
OR
b) a known thief

I think we should be told

John Kane

On Jun 26, 5:35*am, Helen Deborah Vecht <helenve...@zetnet.co.uk>
wrote:
> Mark T
> <pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid>typed
>
> > Pete Biggs writtificated
> > > I don't expect the
> > > police to go round scanning random bikes on the street
> > Quite, but they *do* check frame numbers of random bikes in the street[1].
> > [1] Well, frame numbers of nice bikes ridden by oiks and known thieves.
>
> No police person ever checked my frame number, in 25 years of cycling,
> sometimes as much as 11,000 miles per year.

You just aren't trying. You need to look a bit more like a oik.
Getting a reputation as a know thief is probably not time-effective as
it could take years.

Perhaps if you dig out some very old clothes, take them out back and
trample them in the mud, make sure your hair looks like Medusa's on a
bad day and then take you best bike out ...?

Lycra or a business suit just won't do.

John Kane Kingston ON Canada

John Kane

On Jun 26, 5:12*am, "Pete Biggs"
<p...@pomegranateremovehighlyimpracticalfruitbiggs.tc> wrote:
> Mark T wrote:
> > Pete Biggs writtificated
>
> >> I don't expect the
> >> police to go round scanning random bikes on the street
>
> > Quite, but they *do* check frame numbers of random bikes in the
> > street[1].
>
> > [1] Well, frame numbers of nice bikes ridden by oiks and known
> > thieves.
>
> *I agree it's a good idea to make a note of your frame numbers. *Yourbike
> could end up in a police station even if no bikes were checked in the
> street. *It happened to one of my bikes that was stolen.

Exempt I have a Bianchi that does not seem to have a frame number.
The bottom bracket has something like H6Y.

John Kane Kingston ON Canada

Pete Whelan

Pete Biggs wrote:
> Mark T wrote:
>> Just had an interesting talk with a policeman.
>>
>> Tags, it seems, are merely a deterrent to theft. The problem with
>> them is that when plod spots an oik with a too-nice-for-him bike he
>> doesn't have the scanner on him and will prolly not confiscate the
>> bike on the off chance it's nicked.
>>
>> What they do when they suspect a bike is stolen is flip it over and
>> give the frame number to the control room. If that frame number has
>> been reported stolen the bike is returned to you. Woo!
>>
>> If you don't make a note of the frame number all the policeman has to
>> go on is the make and model. This will return oodles of possibles
>> and will take hours to go through and check. It won't happen. You
>> won't get your bike back. If you've given them the frame number, you
>> will.
>>
>> The frame number is normally underneath the bottom bracket, I've just
>> made a note of mine.
>
>
> Stolen bikes get abandoned and handed-in quite often. I don't expect the
> police to go round scanning random bikes on the street, but I do expect them
> to scan bikes that are recovered in the police station. Whether they
> actually bother or not, I dunno.
>
> The sticker is a little bit of a deterrent anyway. I got some cheap "Stop
> Theft" kits off Fleabay a while ago. They use the same system and database
> as the more expensive Datatag ones.
>
> ~PB
>
>
I always make sure my own name is on the top tube, lacquered on firmly.
Oik then has to prove he is me, so possibly a better deterent than the
Data-Tag stickers. they all help.