Bike theft taken seriously it seems

[wafflycat]

From the local rag, it seems some bike thefts from King's Lynn station have been taken seriously.

EDP article on bike thefts

"A Norfolk thief who stole commuters' bicycles from stations has been banned from travelling anywhere on Britain's railways with a bike.

The two-year anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) also bans James Leonard from carrying tools such as bolt-croppers or pliers that could be used to steal bikes.

Last night British Transport Police said anyone who saw Leonard breaching the order, which expires in December 2011, should contact them immediately."

 

[bauldbairn]

Not before time, in my opinion!

 

[Redvers]

From bitter experience I heartily agree with the sentiments but how on earth could such an ASBO be enforced?

 

[wafflycat]

Therein lies a problem...

 

[downfader]

From bitter experience I heartily agree with the sentiments but how on earth could such an ASBO be enforced?

And if you consider similar frequent and prolific theives who target cars instead... they get prison, so why has he been allowed to avoid it I wonder..?

 

[ELL]

So he has stolen bikes and all that has happened is he has been told that he can no longer go on the train with the bikes he has stolen. That will teach him a lesson wont it.

 

[marinyork]

I don't see why if he is being allowed free movement on the railways still that it shouldn't be stipulated that he has to report to local transport police/staff that he plans to enter the station and travel and be searched for bolt croppers/etc. It's a lot more work for staff but if they aren't careful they'll be more dealings anyway. It's a start though.

 

[downfader]

So he has stolen bikes and all that has happened is he has been told that he can no longer go on the train with the bikes he has stolen. That will teach him a lesson wont it.

The guy I knew at college when I was a kid had been out of prison for about a year. He'd done 3 for stealing cars, one for each car he'd been caught for it seems... though they got him and his uncle on other stuff iirc, but it seems to throw a light onto how cycles are seen.

The person whose bike is stolen, or damaged in the attempt, may end up having to walk many miles in bad weather, they may end up having to walk through problem areas, or may not be able to travel on a bus or get a lift home. They are often put in the same "stranded" scenario that the car-theft victim is. Then there is the financial cost.

Cycle theft should be taken much more seriously in the country.

 

[661-Pete]

And if you consider similar frequent and prolific theives who target cars instead... they get prison, so why has he been allowed to avoid it I wonder..?

They don't always get prison. But I suppose the logic behind this is, a car thief can easily become a killer. A bike thief causes misery, loss and inconvenience, but seldom injury to anyone. So maybe it's perceived by the magistrates as a less 'serious' crime...

Having said that, I do agree I'd like the law to come down hard on these scum. One of my son's bikes (the road bike) was stolen a few weeks ago from outside St Pancras station (where it was securely locked). The police were sympathetic but couldn't help much. I doubt if he'll see any part of it again...

 

[MacB]

Removing the market is a good idea, documentary last night mentioned a link between a drop in certain crimes and globalisation. Burglary was down as traditional targets like electronic goods, video/dvd players etc, were now so cheap the bottom had fallen out of the black market.

Solution to bike crime, make bikes so cheap, via government sustainable transport grants, that bike theft becomes a pointless activity. Works for me

 

[Cubist]

Sounds like good creative use of an ASBO to me.

Our division is currently being hit by a wave of burglaries by a "Hanoi" team from another area. This "team" are a large number of committed individuals who travel into our patch along the motorway and main road network, attack houses by a particular method in order to steal the keys to high value cars. Intelligence tells us they are bang at it, and so we have patrols in the right area at the right time to stop them (they have to travel in by car, so we have a strategic patrol pinchpoints where they are often stopped, checked and because of the intel on them, searched etc. )

We have knocked several off, but the gang is large, and relentless. Quite often our patrols stop them but if they are on their way into our area all we can do is tell them to turn round etc etc, and so naturally a huge frustration set in.

A huge piece of intelligence work has now been completed to identify the gang, and we have applied for ASBOs. There is sufficient evidence to convince the courts that these people are only visiting our area in the hours of darkness for one purpose, and by definition crime is also antisocial behaviour. All the gang now have ASBOs and if they are found within our boundaries at night, or in teams they can be arrested and put before a court.

 

[Crankarm]

An ASBO!!! This is a f'kin wind up, isn't it?! He doesn't even need to set foot on a train to nick bikes at stations ....... just shows what idiots the CPS and magistrates are. Perhaps if either had had their bike stolen the this guy might well be behind bars or have been made to sell everything he has to pay back the owners for the bikes he's nicked or actually return their bikes to them.

I say D-Lock him and cut his balls off with his bolt croppers.

An absolute bl00dy farce, 54 hrs community service .......... This guy is a career bike thief if he carries bolt croppers. How many bikes has he nicked that he hasn't been caught doing so? Cut his right hand off that would mean he couldn't use any bolt croppers ever again.

Any restitution to the owers of the bikes or are they as usual ignored save for a few trite sound bites of sympathy

This has spoiled what had been a nice evening .

 

[Crankarm]

Sounds like good creative use of an ASBO to me.

Our division is currently being hit by a wave of burglaries by a "Hanoi" team from another area. This "team" are a large number of committed individuals who travel into our patch along the motorway and main road network, attack houses by a particular method in order to steal the keys to high value cars. Intelligence tells us they are bang at it, and so we have patrols in the right area at the right time to stop them (they have to travel in by car, so we have a strategic patrol pinchpoints where they are often stopped, checked and because of the intel on them, searched etc. )

We have knocked several off, but the gang is large, and relentless. Quite often our patrols stop them but if they are on their way into our area all we can do is tell them to turn round etc etc, and so naturally a huge frustration set in.

A huge piece of intelligence work has now been completed to identify the gang, and we have applied for ASBOs. There is sufficient evidence to convince the courts that these people are only visiting our area in the hours of darkness for one purpose, and by definition crime is also antisocial behaviour. All the gang now have ASBOs and if they are found within our boundaries at night, or in teams they can be arrested and put before a court.

It must be so frustrating for you Cube. You do all the good work tracking and apprehending these guys only for them to be given an ASBO which tbh does nothing as they will just be more careful to avoid getting caught or if you catch them in the act they getting nothing more than a slap on the wrists. I feel this country is now so f'ked there is no going back.

In contrast China has the right idea.

 

[wafflycat]

This has spoiled what had been a nice evening .

Here you go oh cranky one, have a new avatar

 

[Cubist]

It must be so frustrating for you Cube. You do all the good work tracking and apprehending these guys only for them to be given an ASBO which tbh does nothing as they will just be more careful to avoid getting caught or if you catch them in the act they getting nothing more than a slap on the wrists. I feel this country is now so f'ked there is no going back.

In contrast China has the right idea.

No, your daily wail fuelled reaction to ASBOS misses the whole point Cranky.

We deliberately went for ASBOS which give us a power of arrest whenever we know or suspect they have breached the conditions, whereas before we had to prove evidence that they were committing an offence. The ASBO gives us a preemptive, proactive tool to get them into custody as soon as we see them in our area.

An ASBO is NOT a punishment, it's a court order making even the most minor of nuisance behaviours punishable by imprisonment.

Your bike thief above could walk onto the station area carrying a pair of pliers/croppers. He could be arrested for "going equipped for theft" but no court in the country would convict. Now he has an ASBO, there is an assumption that he can be arrested for carrying tools. Breaching an ASBO carries up to 5 years in prison.