LCC’s eight-point campaign plan
1. Creation of a police anti-theft squad
A dedicated police team must tackle cycle theft, engaging in pro-active ‘stings’ to find persistent offenders and gangs.
2. Tougher action against selling stolen on websites
Websites need tough rules on ID, and sellers must be made to provide real photos and frame numbers.
3. Code of practice for bike shops
Bike shops must make proper checks on seller ID and bike provenance. A new code of practice will enable those that sign up to it to demonstrate their good standards.
4. Tougher action against street markets
Well-known locations for selling stolen bikes such as Brick Lane market must be policed much more aggressively.
5. A central repository for recovered bikes
A central location where people could recover stolen bikes would make it easier to unite owners with the large number of bikes that are recovered.
6. Regular stakeholder meetings
Cyclists, police and politicians must meet regularly to ensure that cycle theft is given sufficiently high priority.
7. Increasing secure parking provision
Thousands more secure cycle parking spaces need to be built for homes, estates, shops, educational institutions, workplaces and transport hubs.
8. Better education for cyclists
Cyclists must be given sensible information to help them protect their bikes, such as registering the frame number online, buying insurance, and using strong locks. They also need tips on avoiding buying stolen bikes.
Recently, I saw a bike on Gumtree that I was interested in purchasing.
First of all I took the precaution of not mentioning which bike I was referring to. Because a genuine seller wouldn’t normally have any problem knowing which bike he was selling, but a bike thief would probably be selling a load of bikes and wouldn’t know which one I was referring to.
I asked whether the seller could provide evidence of ownership, because of the bad record of sites like Gumtree and eBay.
I didn’t receive an answer, so I reported the advert as suspicious.
I’ve been looking at ebay recently. Shocked at how many 2nd hand bikes are sold by somebody who claims it was owned by their wife or girlfriend, but they don’t know what size it is. WTF?
Evidence that some bikes on eBay are stolen.
http://bicycleslut.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/burglary-result-all-eight-bikes-found-and-an-arrest-made/