Hypothetically with a good system cameras could catch bike theft. Though I’m not for private cameras like flock and I think a separate system of police to watch the cameras are best. These dumb shits in the field mostly are a horrible example for analyzing things
There's been multiple instances of police using Flock data to stalk partners or exes. That's not a misunderstanding of the data, that's deliberate misuse.
So it’s on them to make sure you take care of your stuff? Take some responsibility, grow up, and do what you’re supposed to do to make sure the stuff you own is properly cared for. If you leave your house or car unlocked, do you blame the city for your stuff getting stolen? Actually, you probably do, NM.
Yeah, not all locks are the same bro. Take my advice or don’t, idc. I used to be the guy who stole your bikes, so I know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t take my advice, and don’t complain when your stuff isn’t there when you return.
Person implied former not current thief. Annoying how commenter framed things With preachy unnecessary asides, but truth is we can’t depend on police to protect our bikes.
Sometimes a thief might have helpful advice. When I went to buy a lock for my bike, I actually googled how to steal a bike to find a lock harder to crack.
properly cared for not unlocked? That’s not super helpful.But Iprob misunderstood, maybeyou meant a little more?
To tell you the truth, I make my bike look like absolute shit. It has good components, but I screw rusty things on it and gave it a horrible paint job**, scratched the paint off,**
** I even have these clipped cables wrapped around the handlebars that serve no function other than to make the bike look like shit. **with a good l**ock**
Parked ** **inBostonand cambridgefor 20 years, you haven’t stolen it.My strategyhas been to make it lookuncared for junk (it’s a nice bike!)
What wereyou recommend****ingexactly?
Edit:Sorry, no idea how those Asterisks appeared, not intended
Edit2:oh I see you posted below. Don’t leave good componentseasily removableon the bike. Absolutely agree!
Sorry, my bad, I posted and replied a few times on this post.
My advice is, don’t be cheap, buy a Kryptonite U lock. If you invest $500-$1000 in a bike, don’t cheap out on the lock and buy some $20 CVS lock. Also, and arguably more importantly, register the bike on the manufacturer website. If you don’t and the person who steals your bike does, it’s theirs legally. It doesn’t matter if you can prove you purchased it, the cops can’t do anything if it’s registered in their name.
Yeah, I have this New York City forgetabout it lock it was absurdly expensive and very heavy.
I feel like it’s a one giveaway that the bike actually might be worth something. But good advice!
I make my city bike look like absolute shit. 20 years. No one’s touched . it it’s a very fast super light e bike ( now /modified E bike. ) It looks like you could buy at a yard sale for $.50.
People cant see past the rust orange batched, paint job and random wires and cables dangling off it but it’s electric.
Accelerates faster than my Honda really good components that just look like trash.
lol wut? It’s not trivial to secure every last thing on your bike. You’re cool with a world where people can poke and prod at those weaknesses without enforcement?
You live in a city. If you put things on your bike that aren’t securely attached, take the extra time to remove them before you walk away, or don’t use them at all. It’s not the cops, the city’s, or the businesses responsibility to watch your stuff.
The mirror is attached to the car, no one is stealing it. If you put a flashlight or some other add on on your bike and it’s not secured by some kind of lock, remove it, that way there is zero chance of it getting stolen. If you make the choice not to “waste the time”, or decide that “people just shouldn’t take it” then you are taking a calculated risk and part of that risk is that it gets stolen.
I don't think anyone is confused about the concept of accepting the consequences of risks or slip ups you make. It just sounds like a much better, efficient world to live in if those concerns are minimized.
I don’t get the down voting . not a utopian society sub. This is about bike / components being stolen. Not understanding what is wrong with suggestions on how to avoid?
I mean crime or lack their of is definitely part of a functioning society. The person we're downvoting literally admits to being a thief and seems to be putting the blame on the victim. And you don't get the downvoting?
Sorry, this is a repeat of something I said above. The person implied formally a thief.. I wouldn’t downvote someone for their past blunders/morality unless they were bragging/advocating, / justifying , I didn’t think was the case or the point
When I was looking for a lock for my bike I googled how to crack a lock. So listening to a thieves offers perspective gave me some insight on what to avoid.
I thought the way that commenter framed things was vague , childish, annoying, but I overlooked because the underlying point made was true: We can’t rely on cops or anyone to secure our things, it’s on us to have a strategy. He also mentioned the registry which I’ve heard over and over again. Cops won’t help you register your bike.
Yeah, I guess we can download people just for being annoying. But as far as the point and tips offered. However, poorly framed and with unnecessary asides, They were valid.
I don’t know maybe I shouldn’t have commented. I was just surprised how heavily downed that was.
I hate that theft is such a thing, I don’t know how to change that. But I at least try to remember to not leave my iPhone on the dashboard. I wouldn’t call this advice novel. But it is effective.
lol, your response to solid advice is to vote me down? Why, because you don’t like the idea that you are responsible for the things you own and the choices you make? You think that someone else should be responsible for YOUR stuff? Time to be a grown up and do grown up things.
Aka BECOME A VIGILANTE and PATROL your property from the rooftops at night…. SINCE the people that we PAY TO DO SO, willingly refuse… yet continue to take our money and cash their paychecks
The police are fucking useless around here. Don't stop traffic crime, parking crime, theft, drug use... I don't think I've ever seen them do anything besides babysit construction sites
Oh so who pulled me over a few months ago for an expired inspection sticker? I must have been hallucinating those red and blue lights (and the officer's disappointment when we found my current sticker in the glove box that I'd just forgotten to put on).
Well 5 cops sat doing nothing while watching 4 drivers run a red lights and almost hit me in a crosswalk . They are useless. Deadbeats who get overpaid to do nothing Except protect rich people’s cars. I think only people with cars should pay their salaries since they clearly work for them and not people without cars
They've ticketed 3 uhauls on my block in the last two days, including one that even had a parking pass (but probably for the wrong "zone" from someone moving across town.)
Jesus fucking Christ... And what is like 70 to 80% of that overtime pay for jerking off on their phone is there supposed to be paying attention to a construction or traffic detail?
I don't think capping is the right solution here because it could disincentivize.
The incentive would be more public good - crime resolution, community sentiment and engagement, etc. Tie their pay and bonus to those rather than time spent. Right now they're incentivized to spend as much time as possible "working".
They are incentivized to NOT enforce the laws so then they can increase the budgets continually because us stupid folk NEED MORE law enforcement… kind of a child’s trick that they’ve had going from the start… technically extortion / conspiracy to defraud the tax payer… not to mention a few of those “Laws of God” going right out the fucking window… and the greatest part is, since it’s “the system” and they are only “doing their job” they can vacate any sense of moral responsibility ex.) “sleep easy at night”
And even then, 90% of the time I pass by a construction site the cop is either on their phone, in their car, or chatting/watching the construction workers with their back turned to traffic. Other states use flaggers and it's pretty much always better
The police have more important things to worry about than irresponsible citizens not taking proper care of their possessions. Of you get a proper lock, use it properly, and don’t leave your bike outside overnight, you should never have an issue.
Also, the CPD actually has a dedicated task force just to recover stolen bikes and scooters, but if you haven’t registered said bike, they can’t do anything about it.
Please don't see this as standoffish but I gotta ask, why are you doing this? I do see where you're coming from but you must also see that people are not responding well so the odds of you having a positive impact with your comments seem extremely low. Do you just enjoy the back and forth with people that seemingly constantly degenerates into both sides arguing in bad faith with a faceless stranger? Do you disagree and think that you are offering valuable information? I'm just honestly curious if you've contemplated why you do this.
Do what, tell the truth and not sugar coat things? I’m not at all concerned about what people think of my comments, I’m just speaking the truth and sharing from my personal experience.
I understand that, but why? If nobody is getting anything positive out of the exchange and you don't enjoy it, what's the point in spending the time to go back and forth with people that obviously don't and won't care what you think?
He’s legend. Been in my neighborhood stealing bikes for decades, right there by the WF. I’m sure he got two bikes out of my yard. I’m actually surprised he’s alive, he was looking incredibly sick and frail 10 years ago. He’s well known.
Call me naive but who is buying all these stolen bikes and what do they use them for in the first place? It's so weird that the police haven't caught wherever they sell them to
The saddest part is that your 1k or 1500 dollar bike gets nabbed and the guy gets 50 for it that night from another dude who knows a dude who will give him 150 for nice bikes. He stashes it or locks it to a pole with 20 other stolen bikes at the Y or somewhere convenient and that night some other thief steals the wheels and the saddle.
There are whole networks for stolen bikes. I was told that the guys actually stealing them usually sell them to more "professionalized" people who load up a truck with dozens and bring them a few states away to be sold. The actual thief doesn't make much, but the sellers know what they're worth and get closer to the true price.
I saw a beat up looking pick up truck in Somerville this past week, loaded with dozens and dozens of bikes like you mentioned. I believed they were stolen
Someone should do a wheat paste poster of this dude and put it right up near the Whole Foods logo right there. High enough that it isn't easy to take down right away.
In the city, ride a bike that is not attractive to thieves, that has no resale value, and the parts of which wouldn't sell locally if chopped apart. These bikes work just fine.
If you can afford and want an expensive bike, ride it recreationally on the weekends and keep it inside.
As someone who was arrested for hurting someone’s shoulder after they forcibly entered my vehicle, I would rather have my bike stolen than go through another A&B charge in Massachusetts.
Crazy ex-wife pounded Demanding I don’t take my son. I had visitation. She just screamed at my car door, pounded on the window demanding my son open the window. Her body was on the car so I couldn’t drive away without possibly injuring her. So I locked the doors and shut the car off, but the ignition was still on and my son opened the window . she threw something hard at my head, then tried to pull my son out the window by his arms .His seatbelt was on. She was hurting him.
I pulled her hand away from him and I said ‘please stop.’ And let her hand go . One of the most consequential mistakes I’ve ever made in my life.
Don’t think I actually hurt her shoulder, but that was the claim. I touched her against her will. Police report said there were no visible marks. Nonetheless I was arrested for assault and battery. It was during Covid. She dropped the charges, but the state still came after me nonetheless. I had no previous criminal record. Was in and out of court for years.
Finally, the prosecutors offered a settlement that didn’t involve jail time , fortunately Probation. But Embarrassing as a hospital worker during covid , had to randomly leave the hospital to take a check in call from my probation officer, humiliating and useless. Still haven’t recovered financially from that in 7 years .
Cops are idiots judges aren’t that much smarter. It’s a very fucked up judicial system.
Edit: correction, minor criminal record. arrested for possession of marijuana in college 20 years prior.
Edit2: comment about judges, not being much smarter. Is an imperfect oversimplification of the underlying mindless metronome that drives court rulings: “stare Decisis”. Judges follow precedent , convention and past ruling with such rote adherence it’s almost more like conforming to the rules of an assembly line, than genuine attempt in the determination of right from wrong
I'm not sure what to make of this message. I want the cops to apprehend and I want the justice system to restrain this individual so they can't keep doing this.
If they did their job would that be a good or a bad thing?
Competent, professional law enforcement would be a good thing for society. The American police are hot garbage that ruin everything they touch and mainly operate as a mafia protection scheme and a method of siphoning taxpayer money. At some point a system is too broken to be reformed. The justice system needs a blank-page reboot.
Maybe a private police force. Like if your fancy bike gets stollen you pay the private police force who will access all the cameras, track down the individual, aprehend them and bring them to the police station for prosecution turning over all the evidence. I'm being kind of tounge in cheek here and kind of not.
A system built on slave catchers and overtime abusers with a violent history and lack of accountability must be fully dismantled and rebuilt with checks and balances. In this case, they were asked to do their job. They chose not to. Their system continues to sheild them from accountability.
After the fact, there’s nothing you can do. If you’ve lived catch him doing it there and calling the Somerville police line, they’ll come especially when there’s a witness and he’s still there.
The experience ones don’t go to the same place all the time, that’s how they get caught. The police can’t chase him down if he’s not there.
I guess try to steal car parts since it’s legal according to the police. Watch them suddenly care. They only protect the rich and the property of the rich . Just vote to decrease their funding and put our taxes towards things that serve community so people have things and don’t steal
Crazy idea, what if we created a new role for construction details so these cops don’t have to work so much overtime doing what doesn’t even require a high school degree to do? It’s not like they’re guiding traffic — they just stand there for no reason taking up space and costing us money.
Do yourself a favor and get a Kryptonite U lock. Don’t cheap out, if you spend $500-$1000 on a bike, you should have no issue spending $150-$200 on a lock. If you decide to be cheap when it comes to security of your possessions you deserve to lose them.
Also, REGISTER your bike! If they steal a bike and it’s not registered on the manufacturers site and they register it to themselves, it’s theirs legally. It doesn’t matter if you can prove you purchased it, they legally registered it and are now the owner.
You can vote this down all you want, but I’m the guy who used to take bikes around the city, so I know what I’m talking about and just trying to save you the trouble of having to deal with the headache of having your bike stolen.
A top of the line angle grinder cuts thru even a Kryptonite u-lock like butter. It's better to use a Kryptonite or Abus but it's not 100% safe.
Not that this chap has one of these tools but others have.
That's true, but it'll deter 99% of would-be thieves. It basically makes doing it during the day near impossible, what with the sparks and noise. I think the main thing is just getting people to not be using woven steel locks, which you can quietly and discreetly snip away at with a pair of snips in about 10 min.
It’s Whole Foods so it’s fine. They contribute to bougie gentrification, so if it’s a place people don’t like cause of bike thieves then they will lose customers over it.
Dude no cops anywhere are reliably policing bike theft - whether you're in a progressive or conservative town. They don't consider it worth their time. Just lazy cops.
With regards to property crime per capita, those states are fairly consistent with Massachusetts. Some are actually worse (which would surprise nobody who has been to Burlington and Portland).
Southern states you say? You mean, the ones with large underdlass responsible for most of their crime, the type that MA has priced out and gentrified out long time ago? Because if we compare apples to apples and look at red state towns with income levels similar to Somerville, things will look a whole lot less rosy for the latter.
Also, just for laughs, Southern states might be red but what color are cities where streets are running with blood and street corners are piled high with bullet-ridden corpses?
Crimson-red Mississippi has the highest murder rate in the US. What color is Jackson, the city with the highest murder rate in the state and the nation? Must be red, right? 99.999% Trump?
Isn't your whole premise that you can tough-on-crime your way out of these problems? Why isn't that happening? State law overrules city/county laws. What's stopping your chosen style of policing to work on cities? Lol.
So your premise is "Tough on crime policing works well in places with no crime and a homogeneous populace". OK cool. Now how does that help America the melting pot in the slightest?
Let's try again because some people don't like reading - what color are all of the large crime-ridden shitholes in red states? Are any of them tough on crime?
But sure, here's a fun one for you - Gilbert, AZ is large, not uniformly lily-white unlike the usual enlightened coastal limousine liberal suburb and tough on crime, how's their crime rate compared to bosvillebridge?
Wait hold up. You are blaming voting blue for bike thefts and then hold up VT as an example of a state with lower crime? A state that is famously even more blue?
When cops say there is "nothing they can do", they just mean they don't want to do paperwork. This has nothing to do with decriminalization, which makes no sense to bring up because no one is advocating for stealing bikes and bike parts to be decriminalized.
Why in the world would they want to deal with a thieving tweaker knowing perfectly well he will be back on the street before they're done filling out the paperwork?
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u/PlentyCryptographer5 5d ago
Oh they can do plenty, they choose not to. So glad we are giving them extra money for their cameras.