Cycle Security - Please comment and repost amongst your friends

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mcshroom

Bionic Subsonic
I don't think I'd mind either scheme. Where I think the main benefit of a scheme like this lies, however, is in the collecting of data like frame numbers at the time that the bike is being registered. As Chris mentioned earlier, many people don't know the frame numbers of their bikes, so when stolen it makes it a lot harder to reunite them with their owners. If, when the bike is stolen the bike's details are already recorded, then the job becomes far easier.

My warning would be that you may see a statistical rise in bike thefts after the trial, as people will be more willing to report bikes stolen (which is massively under-reported in the UK) if they have a a greater belief that you will be able to return them. This will be a good result for crime detection, but it may not go down well with the number crunchers higher up the force.
 

Mr Haematocrit

msg me on kik for android
The searchable database's already exist such as bikeregister.com.
Bikeregister provides a photo database of bikes, along with the bikes specifications and the site offers security etching, security stickers, data-tags, locks and more.
As the database exists, is already in use and works why do the police all not simply agree to use this service? - why is there a need to use tax payers money to replicate something that already exists and works would the money not be better spent promoting this existing service, or a tax force to tackle cycle crime head on.
 

Martman

Member
Sounds a great idea Chris especially for free, what about getting this done at source.
Shops could advertise “ free security pack with every new bike” there would be more take up this way.

MartMan

Can you influence Hertfordshire to take this up?
 

buddha

Veteran
I like the idea of using a datatag transponder (or possibly more than one), hidden inside the frame, inside rims, under saddle etc. They only cost a couple of quid each (retail).
Even my cat has one!
This way a load of bikes (say locked at a train station) can be scanned quickly and more easily than a QR code.
 

GentlyBenevolent

Well-Known Member
Location
Wigan-ish
If the QR code sticker is to be used as frame numbers aren't always legible then the thief will just remove/destroy it. Once it's rendered illegible there's no link back to the database. I'm not sure this is practical.

Some kind of NFC tag dropped into the frame with some glue (so it sticks in and you can't just turn the bike upside down and drop it back out) - like DataTags (used on motorbikes) as buddha says - would be very hard for a thief to disable without destroying the bike. If the QR sticker is to provide a visual deterrant then you can still have a sticker indicating your membership in a scheme. Perhaps two - one to go on the handlebars/top tube to shout about it, one to show where the NFC tag can be read?

As mobile phones are starting to come out with NFC readers (various android, blackberry) this could be a reasonably low-cost tool for an officer in the street who needs to check if a bike is registered stolen/who should be riding it/who owns it/etc. They would just need an NFC-equipped phone with an app to query the database. NFC tags which can be programmed with a scheme ID/membership number/code can be bought for under £1 a tag, and they can be made permanent (so a thief can't change the tag once it's installed). So long as no personal information is stored on the tag the bike can be sold on (legitimately) and the new owner updates the details on the database.
 

e-rider

crappy member
Location
South West
I would like to know exactly how many (%) high end bikes are actually recovered. These ideas are very much based on the idea of reuniting an owner with their bike 'if' it is recovered by the police - I'm guessing that most bikes are never seen again. What we need is to stop people taking the bikes in the first place. How about some specific legislation on bike theft, that makes guilty theives feel the full force of the law. If the government want more people to cycle, less people in cars driving, saving the environment, and getting fitter and healthier to remove some of the burden on the NHS, then the government should make it very clear that bike theft is highly anti -social and simply wont be tolerated i.e. prison sentences for theives as well as for those buying stolen bikes too. Most people are aware that a bike is dodgy but are happy to buy it anyway - this attitiude needs to change. Online sites such as ebay and gumtree need sorting out too - thousands of stolen bikes pass through these sites and nothing is done about it.
 

Rupie

Über Member
Bike theft is hard to get investigate and police don't like unsolved crimes as it looks bad on their figures. This database is actually only for bike they come accross, not actuall ones found after investigation of individual crimes. A database that returns bikes to people who have probably replaced them does not stop the thefts in the first place. The only way to get the police to take any action on a stolen bike is if it get riden by a 14 yr old, already with penalty 39 points, at 60mph through a residential area, and then they would deploy the Police helicoptor (which is paid for by the govenment, unlike the one that takes us to hospital, when we get knocked off), 10 cars, 3 bikes and a stinger. Easy crime to detect, investgate and solve (good for the figures !!!)
 
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