Cycle Theft

Richard said:

"Cyclists should ensure that their bikes are post-coded, securely locked
and out of view.

All the bikes I've had nicked have been when out of view - I assumed
because once someone's spotted it they then have the time to work at
the secure lock without someone spotting them.

Jim.

Jim Ley said:

All the bikes I've had nicked have been when out of view - I assumed
because once someone's spotted it they then have the time to work at
the secure lock without someone spotting them.

I'll second that. Almost all the thefts I've heard of are either
unlocked bikes or bikes locked in places out the general public view
but with public access like close stairwells where the thief has
privacy and time to work. I am aware there are regular thefts of locked
bikes during the night from common closes in the Kelvinside and
Maryhill areas of Glasgow. Don't know about the rest of the city but I
imagine it's similiar
The risk (in Glasgow) of a bike locked in a busy public place
for a few hours being nicked is minimal. That said I would still be
wary of parking any top quality bike in any public place unattended for
any period of time or parking a decent bike in the same place every
day.

Iain

"Richard" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Poll reveals cycle theft hotspots
Kingston upon Thames in south-west London is the most notorious place for
bicycle thefts, a report has found.

I've got to say, my first reaction was a laugh. My second was to send to my
fellow Kingstonian cyclist friends. Awaiting the replies.

There was a cycle that was nicked and dumped outside my flat. The chain had
come off and stuff, but in good enough nick, so I rescued and contacted the
police. Their systems looked extremely antiquated, even though this bike was
a very unknown make (to me). After about 48 hours one of my pikey neighbours
gave the bike a good kicking hoping the dustmen would take it. He's since
left and dumped a load of his own [censored] where I left the bike.

Anyway, it's no surprise that Kingston is #1. Too many people getting
shipped into the area to stay at the Kingston YMCA, which brings in people
that need money for drugs and drink. The chances are that it's also one or
two locals who are responsible for the majority of thefts. I just heard
back from my brother .. "my neighbours had their bike nicked, nice Marin
which was chained up outside with a Kryptonite cable lock." Still, it was
outside at night, what'd you expect?

email hidden said:

I'll second that. Almost all the thefts I've heard of are either
unlocked bikes or bikes locked in places out the general public view
but with public access like close stairwells where the thief has
privacy and time to work. I am aware there are regular thefts of locked
bikes during the night from common closes in the Kelvinside and
Maryhill areas of Glasgow. Don't know about the rest of the city but I
imagine it's similiar
The risk (in Glasgow) of a bike locked in a busy public place
for a few hours being nicked is minimal. That said I would still be
wary of parking any top quality bike in any public place unattended for
any period of time or parking a decent bike in the same place every
day.

The only bike I've had nicked was locked, with three locks, outside
the Porters' Lodge, King's College, Cambridge, in full daylight.

A D-lock attached the front wheel to the wheel bender cycle rack, a
cable lock attached the front wheel with the rest of the bike, and a
chain attached the panniers and rear wheel to the bike. The thieves
cut the cable lock and removed the front wheel. I assume they then
loaded the bike into a van which must have been parked some distance
away.

"[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

Jim Ley wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

All the bikes I've had nicked have been when out of view - I assumed
because once someone's spotted it they then have the time to work at
the secure lock without someone spotting them.

Quoted message said:

I'll second that. Almost all the thefts I've heard of are either
unlocked bikes or bikes locked in places out the general public view
but with public access like close stairwells where the thief has
privacy and time to work. I am aware there are regular thefts of locked
bikes during the night from common closes in the Kelvinside and
Maryhill areas of Glasgow. Don't know about the rest of the city but I
imagine it's similiar
The risk (in Glasgow) of a bike locked in a busy public place
for a few hours being nicked is minimal. That said I would still be
wary of parking any top quality bike in any public place unattended for
any period of time or parking a decent bike in the same place every
day.

Quoted message said:

Iain

My Rockhopper disappeared in less than an hour from Sauchiehall Street
during shopping hours...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

Tom Crispin <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

A D-lock attached the front wheel to the wheel bender cycle rack, a
cable lock attached the front wheel with the rest of the bike, and a
chain attached the panniers and rear wheel to the bike. The thieves
cut the cable lock and removed the front wheel. I assume they then
loaded the bike into a van which must have been parked some distance
away.

Whereas I have had at least three locked bikes stolen but never had an
unlocked bike stolen...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

"Richard" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Poll reveals cycle theft hotspots
Kingston upon Thames in south-west London is the most notorious place for
bicycle thefts, a report has found.

The Area Commander of Suffolk Constabulary was on the radio today warning
people to lock up their bikes more carefully! Apparently there has been a
10% increase in bicycle thefts in the force area.

I keep mine inside the house and if I do lock up in town do so in full view
where there is CCTV.

I've seen people leave bikes unlocked in Ipswich which shocked me TBH; and
there are definitely people looking for bikes to nick in the
suburbs/residential areas as I noticed the remains of a cable lock thrown
into the compound of an electricity substation down the road from me.

Alex
--
Mr R@T / General Lighting
Ipswich, Suffolk, Untied Kingdom
http://www.partyvibe.com

Mr R@t (2.30 zulu-india) said:

The Area Commander of Suffolk Constabulary was on the radio today warning
people to lock up their bikes more carefully! Apparently there has been a
10% increase in bicycle thefts in the force area.

I can't help thinking that this is indicative of Good Things; not for
the poor sods who've lost their wheels, natch, but if more bikes are
being nicked then it means there's more demand for them....

R.

"Richard" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mr R@t (2.30 zulu-india) said:

The Area Commander of Suffolk Constabulary was on the radio today warning
people to lock up their bikes more carefully! Apparently there has been a
10% increase in bicycle thefts in the force area.

I can't help thinking that this is indicative of Good Things; not for the
poor sods who've lost their wheels, natch, but if more bikes are being
nicked then it means there's more demand for them....

OTOH this also means the people who *purchase* the nicked bikes are unlikely
to be the sort of people with much respect for other norms of society, who
would either ride badly and/or use the bikes as getaway vehicles for *other*
crimes (such as street robberies etc).

Its also an unwelcome increase in crime in a relatively safe area (compared
to places where I used to live like Reading or London.. )

What is perhaps a Good Thing is the very fact an Area Commander (Chief
Superintendent rank!) was taking time to talk to the media about a subject
as "mundane" as bicycle theft.

How many *other* areas does this happen in? Normally its just a sarge or
local bobby or the media spin doctors the cops tend to employ these days.

That said its just dawned on me that there are in fact *three* Area
Commanders in Suffolk and I wasn't sure which one was on the radio so it
could have been around Lowestoft or nearer Newmarket where the bikes are
being stolen.

Alex
--
Mr R@T / General Lighting
Ipswich, Suffolk, Untied Kingdom
http://www.partyvibe.com

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

My Rockhopper disappeared in less than an hour from Sauchiehall Street
during shopping hours...

By the standards of the bikes I see in Glasgow city centre a Rockhopper
is a top quality bike. Most parked bikes I see range from supermarket
specials to base models from good manufacturers. So your Rockhopper
would stand a good chance of being the most attractive bike in the
street. And mountain bikes are of course the mount of choice for local
neds. You were still unlucky losing it in that short time. Hope it
was insured.

Iain

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

Tom Crispin <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

A D-lock attached the front wheel to the wheel bender cycle rack, a
cable lock attached the front wheel with the rest of the bike, and a
chain attached the panniers and rear wheel to the bike. The thieves
cut the cable lock and removed the front wheel. I assume they then
loaded the bike into a van which must have been parked some distance
away.

Whereas I have had at least three locked bikes stolen but never had an
unlocked bike stolen...

<tempts fate>
I have never had a bike stolen, which to a certain extent is a shame as
it is a long time since I had a new bike..
</tempts>

My wife has had a bike stolen, a sit up and beg roadster (hardly chav
fodder) from outside Tolworth Tower. (Yes, Kingston upon Thames).

...d

There's even an article in the Norwich Evening News

See

http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/content/News/story.aspx?brand=ENOnline&category=News&tBrand=enonline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED13%20Apr%202006%2011%3A57%3A13%3A160

or

http://makeashorterlink.com/?I548354FC

includes

"But in Norwich the number of thefts has gone into decline following the
launch of a campaign on December 1 last year to tackle the problem.

In the first month, police saw a 55 per cent drop in thefts compared to the
same period the previous year.

Between December 1 and the end of March this year officers saw a 64 per cent
drop in thefts in the Millennium Plain area (including Theatre Street) which
had been specifically targeted.

And they saw a 20 per cent drop for the whole of the city centre area -
bounded by the ring - in this period."

Cheers, helen s