Had Your Bike Stolen? Useful tips for recovery

[classic33]

No different to going to somewhere like cash converters. I require proof of ID which does not include bank card so drivers licence or recent utility bill etc. i also require seller to fill our purchase form with their address, phone number, & full bike details to include make, model, frame number & colour.

So your operating a business and not acting as an indivual buyer/seller. That is slightly different to a private seller/buyer.

 

[SWC]

not really, a private seller should be just as careful.... belt & braces & all that.

 

[AllForbes]

Hey Jon,

Thank you kindly for the tips. Calling the police in my area for a stolen bike is not the greatest idea because they'll make you file a report that will never get any attention. My bike was stolen from a supermarket parking lot so I called the police. I saw one of the officers smerk as if I wasted his time. They did nothing. Never heard back from them. The perks of living in LA (BTW walked back home with two bags of groceries.) Thankfully it was less than a mile.

I started doing some research for some quick tactical tips to prevent this from ever happening again. This thread offered some amazing advice on recovering my bike but I would love to hear some quick tips on how to prevent my bike from getting stolen. As I was doing my research, I stumbled upon a great resource that discusses bike security and safety. Would love to get opinions from experienced cyclists on what they think. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Drago]

Smerk? Isn't that a dance move?

Over here officers tend to smirk while wandering round lighting the gas lamps.

 

[JohnHughes307]

I don't know if this is common knowledge, but some police force have galleries of stolen bikes and parts that they have recovered.

South Wales Police recently posted this on Facebook:


Your wheels?
20 photos · Updated 22 hours ago
Here’s a gallery of bikes that we’ve recovered. We suspect they were stolen at some point and we’d like nothing more than to be able to return them to the rightful owners. The added bonus is that we can link the bikes to actual thefts and put those we recover them from before the courts. Do you think any of these are yours? Call Pc Samantha Hamilton via 101 if you do. Maybe one of your Facebook friends will recognise something so feel free to share the post. Remember, bike parts may have been changed so there may be aspects of the bike which you don't recognise. Want to increase your chances of us finding you if we recover your stolen bike? Register your bike at www.immobilise.com

https://www.facebook.com/1618086331808624/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1875226422761279

Good luck!

 

[classic33]

I don't know if this is common knowledge, but some police force have galleries of stolen bikes and parts that they have recovered.

South Wales Police recently posted this on Facebook:


Your wheels?
20 photos · Updated 22 hours ago
Here’s a gallery of bikes that we’ve recovered. We suspect they were stolen at some point and we’d like nothing more than to be able to return them to the rightful owners. The added bonus is that we can link the bikes to actual thefts and put those we recover them from before the courts. Do you think any of these are yours? Call Pc Samantha Hamilton via 101 if you do. Maybe one of your Facebook friends will recognise something so feel free to share the post. Remember, bike parts may have been changed so there may be aspects of the bike which you don't recognise. Want to increase your chances of us finding you if we recover your stolen bike? Register your bike at www.immobilise.com

https://www.facebook.com/1618086331808624/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1875226422761279

Good luck!

An Garda Sciochana have been doing that for a few years now.

There's also Bumblebee Auctions, if you're lucky.

 

[LoftusRoadie]

If your bike is stolen from inside a train station then you need to contact the British transport Police http://www.btp.police.uk/
At my local station they have their own cameras there apparently because the ones from the railway company are rubbish. They were very helpful when I had my old mtb stolen and managed to get it back for me (and even rode it to my house to drop it off).