since we're all happy friends again and going cycling together (except me and recombodna off on our hols...), wondered what people thought of the debate about bait bikes over on the guardian?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
bait bikes
(13 posts)-
Posted 13 years ago #
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Park them up hook them up to the grid and wait and see, much more fun than fishing...
Posted 13 years ago # -
Hmm, I don't have time to read the entire document but... entrapment? Wouldn't that cover any CCTV camera anywhere?
@Steveo - contact poison, electricity is not environmentally friendly, nor is the smell of burned flesh waht you want in the road (mmmm bacon)
Posted 13 years ago # -
Can someone forward this excellent idea on to Scottish Police forces please?
Would LOVE to see it adopted up here, I've had a couple of bikes knicked over the years and it still annoys years on :-(Posted 13 years ago # -
lol
simonaspinall
30 Jun 2010, 9:04AM
They have bikes in London?Posted 13 years ago # -
Various issues here.
It may well be 'entrapment' - but perhaps that is only an issue if the person who steals it is charged.
In London the idea seems to be to find where the bikes go and get at 'organised crime'.
This is something the Scottish Government is keen on, though I have no idea how organised bike theft is.
Certainly it used to said that a lot of bikes from Edinburgh went in the back of a van west along the M8.
Others 'just' ended up in Craigmillar, Wester Hailes, Pilton - the usual stereotypes.
Here the 'method' was to swap bits around and/or 'disguise' the frame with paint (often without taking bits off - or masking them to stop stray paint!)
These days people stealing expensive bikes are able to strip them and put bits on eBay - I have no evidence that this happens here.
There is no doubt that 'students' often don't bother with vaguely decent locks. Their bikes may be insured (at least the first time) so they can get a new one.
Bike thefts are often not reported, so the ones that the police DO recover can't be reunited with anyone. (Anyone know if the lost property is only open M-F 9-5?)
As mentioned on other threads here L&B Police are going round offering marking/tagging. It will be interesting to see if people who make the effort to do this get their bikes stolen...
The Guardian article suggests that the bait bike scheme has led to fewer thefts, though it's not clear if this due to catching thieves, their 'gangmasters' or just a bit of high profile activity/publicity.
As reported
Posted 13 years ago # -
Bike thieves are scum. I'd rather have bait bikes than this sort of thing though..
Posted 13 years ago # -
Someone should tell the Polis to watch that video, the "bike thief" was wearing a helmet, so there is no point in targeting non helmet wearing cyclist.
I have hear from the local police that they do occasionally catch bike thieves, and when they do they recover bundles of bikes. The last haul I heard of was about 20 bikes in one lock-up. The question has to be where are all these stolen bikes going?
The odd bike stolen off the street is maybe just someone trying to get home after a night out, but a lot of thefts are from Tenement stairs and other storage places, these thefts are more targeted, which suggest a level of organisation.
Posted 13 years ago # -
The thing about tenement stairs is, of course, that they're well-lit, which makes it all easier.
Had been wondering if any of the bike shop people who lurk/post would input their perspective. Seems to me that tracking bikes to a 'lock-up' would make it seriously worth-while -- one bait bike leads to 20 bikes? serious return on police effort. But also wondered if they might then lead on to bike shops....which would be interesting.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Hmmm I've got about 20 bikes in my lock up..........
Posted 13 years ago # -
BikeBiz catches up...
http://www.bikebiz.com/news/32439/Bait-bikes-cut-cycle-crime
Posted 13 years ago # -
"Police in Hammersmith are deploying bait bikes to try and snare bicycle thieves, it has been revealed, and claim that the initiative is working, with more than 20 arrests made so far."
Posted 13 years ago # -
how many bikes on e-bay/gumtree are actually stolen goods being re-set?
Posted 13 years ago #
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