Bait bikes being introduced

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AndyCarolan

Do you smell fudge?
Location
Norwich
I personally think that it's a good idea. I understand about the point of it being considered entrapment but just because something is poorly locked (or unlocked), it doesn't mean that you can take it.
 
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mark barker

mark barker

New Member
Location
Swindon, Wilts
AndyCarolan said:
I understand about the point of it being considered entrapment but just because something is poorly locked (or unlocked), it doesn't mean that you can take it.
I found that part of the article quite sad, I think it says a lot about our society when the thought of leaving something unlocked is deemed entrapment.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
Well I can see their point about entrapment but if they can manage to weed out the drunks borrowing a bike - but it would still be lost to the original owner, then I think its brilliant. Especially if there is a sign warning about it - may help to protect the idiot's bikes who didn't lock it, or used a piece of string. Even if it was entrapment ... how do they explain away the lock up full of bikes presumably some of which must match bikes reported as stolen.
 

taxing

Well-Known Member
Anyone read the account of the bike thief they linked to?

So I was out on Tuesday night, came out of the nightclub fairly the
worse for drink, and didn't really want to walk home. Because of this,
I looked around the bikes that were left outside the club, and found one
unlocked. I took it, cycled home, and on the way was stopped by a
police car.

When drunk I've often not wanted to walk home, so I've got a taxi/sucked it up and walked home anyway. The idea of 'borrowing' a bike would never even cross my mind, because it's stealing. And then this twat writes about it so casually, like it's such a normal thing to do.
 

shrew

New Member
Location
St Neots , Cambs
taxing said:
Anyone read the account of the bike thief they linked to?



When drunk I've often not wanted to walk home, so I've got a taxi/sucked it up and walked home anyway. The idea of 'borrowing' a bike would never even cross my mind, because it's stealing. And then this twat writes about it so casually, like it's such a normal thing to do.


agreed, my local town has many shops with baskets and chairs outside, this must mean there "going begging" as its "entrapment" should i choose to rob the table and chairs outside my local coffee shop.

i personally think a slap on the wrists/ fine for a drunkard would be the best approach though and use it mainly to catch gangs, its a tricky one, but its effective and people cant really compain if the rozzers have put a sign up saying that there doing it too.
 

TheDoctor

Europe Endless
Moderator
Location
The TerrorVortex
I don't give a $h1t why the thieving little scrotes steal bikes, I'd still cheerfully push them down a flight of stairs. Then stamp on their fingers.
"I was pissed and I didn't want to pay for a taxi' is no excuse for...well, anything, really.
 

guitarpete247

Just about surviving
Location
Leicestershire
I, also, can't see that not locking something up is entrapment to get someone to steal it. Do you lock the plants in your garden? No. But there are scrotes that steal them.
Entrapment enshmapment. Go get em. This is the way to crack gangs that nick bikes en-masse. It may lead the rozzers to hoards of stolen bikes in lock-ups and warehouses. How can someone say that just because it wasn't locked it is therefore their right to take what they know is not their property and that this is therefore entrapment to make them steal something that does not belong to them.

I am now going out to lock up my potatoes.
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
Oh well, perhaps I'm far too old fashioned. If you leave any kind of property not locked or chained down the person who steals it is an innocent?????

A 12 bore cartridge in the seat post and a correctly placed nail in the underside of the saddle would be better solution. OK, the blast would not be directed in the correct direction, but the injury to the thighs would be appropriate:evil:

Kids, don't try this at home...
 
I have seen your link.Its a really very nice bike.British police are using poorly-locked or even unlocked “bait-bikes” to catch thieves.I think it would be good for whistler too because it would show that theyre doing somthing to help stop bike theft.
 
There's the old story about the guy who changed his alloy wheels. He put the old alloys outside the house with "free to good home" sign on them. No one was interested. He then changed the sign to "alloys - set of 5 100 pounds". They were nicked within a day. It seems that if people think somethings worth money, they've got to have them.
My wife had her bike nicked from the shed when our house was burgled.. Was just lucky that the kids (there had to have been at least one small circa 10 yr old to get in the only open window) didn't want my bike... I can only assume it was too big for them and they probably may have had a plan to come back but were foiled.
I remember at college walking around the bike park with a friend.. another cyclist. He noticed a bike that was familiar. This turned out to be one of his old 531 framed bikes, painted in gloss and given to his sister in a different college. He waited for the person to come, got the details, and as a result the Gardai(police) bust a big gang of thieves who were touring various colleges, steal bikes, then selling them in other college/university towns.
I'm all for bait bikes.. but I actually want anyone that commits bike theft to feel the full force of the law. ..put it this way.. if you left M&S with some items of clothing you hadn't paid for, you'ld expect to get done.. so why should bike theft be viewed as anything else.
 

benb

Evidence based cyclist
Location
Epsom
A friend of mine once borrowed a bike when he was drunk. I say borrowed, because he felt really bad about it in the cold light of day and returned it with an apology and a tenner. Hey, we've all done silly things when drunk, right? That was out of order though.

This is a good idea, and I think they should grade the response depending on what type of person took the bike.
Situation above: slap on the wrist and a fine.
Someone intending to steal it as a one off: caution and larger fine
Organised gang stealing lots of bikes to sell on: death
 

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
I wouldn't be concerned over the entrapment aspect just need to ensure that the thief is dealt with appropriately, ie stupid/impulsive maybe a warning. This is a good way to target the people prepared who receive/pay for stolen bikes. But I'd like to see it taken a step further, put multiple identifiers in the frame/parts and then track them all the way and aim to get the purchasers as well. Usual criminal procedures for the people involved in the supply side but buyers.........maybe something new:-

buyer forfeits money, goods and also receives a fixed penalty fine - the fixed penalties could be on a sliding scale, rising with multiple offences.

While impossible to be certain, I'd be prepared to claim that nothing I own has been stolen from someone else. If I was found to have a stolen item then I'd consider the fault lay with myself and the person/business I purchased it from, not some form of entrapment.
 
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