Recovering stolen bikes – a wheel chain in the butt

A recent incident of a stolen bike being found has not quite turned out how the owner might have hoped as they were left to cut the lock the thief   placed on their own bike and were offered no support from the police.

Retail manager of the not-for-profit Good Cycles, Ed who did not want to be identified by his full name, recognised the stolen bike, ironically locked up by the thief, and placed a second lock on the bike to ensure the thief would not be able to use the bike again.

“It’s weird because I’ve got the sort of memory, I can go to Coles and forget half the stuff I went for,” Ed said. “But I just saw this bike and I knew who it belonged to after I’d seen it. I have a memory for bikes I suppose but also, it’s a very distinct bike.”

“I could remember the customer’s name, went back and looked her up on the computer and she confirmed it had been stolen. So, I grabbed a lock from the shop, walked back up there and locked it.”

Police were contacted and the bike was positively identified as the stolen bike. They then left the owner to sort out the bike locks on her own.

Ed left a spare key to the Good Cycles lock with the local shop and took one home in the event he needed to be contacted, but that still left the initial chain to be cut.

The bike owner turned to social media for advice and to possibly borrow a bolt cutter, sparking a heated debate about whether or not the police had failed in their duty to assist the bike owner.

Passionate social media users quickly formed sides all keen to offer advice or admonish the police for neglect of duty.

According to Victoria Police’s website, the duties of an officer are to prevent anti-social behaviour, deal with community safety concerns, resolve disputes, attend accidents, investigate crime, enforce traffic law, deal with drug and alcohol affected people, and attend critical incidents and emergencies.

But what should you expect of the police and what are your options when you find your bike has been found?

North West City News spoke with North Melbourne police who weren’t able to offer specifics on this case without the owner’s permission, but they did say help could be offered but it was on a case-by-case basis.

Riders should be aware the statistics on returned bicycles are low; a stolen bike is rarely ever recovered.

“Generally, when it gets stolen it’s gone, there’s not a lot to be done,” Ed said.

But there are still actions that can be taken to increase the chances of recovering a stolen bike.

“You do have to have some sort of identifying feature,” Ed said.

Recording every possible identifying feature while it is still in your possession – make, model, colour, tyres, etc. can be helpful.

Most bikes have a unique identification number, which is usually stamped on the frame beneath the bottom bracket (between the pedals). Note this number down. It can also be helpful to store a photo of the bike, according to Bikelinc Australia.

If you don’t have this information and the bike has been stolen, call the shop where you originally purchased it. They generally keep track of the serial numbers and might still have the bike’s details.

“We record the serial number of the bike we sell you on your receipt, and we keep a record of it as well, so if you ever need it for insurance purposes or if its stolen, we’ll have it,” Ed said.

The most likely place for a stolen bike is residential homes, according to Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, with 4206 of 7281 total offences recorded for the year ending 2020.

One potential solution floated in the social media chatter was to approach the council for assistance, a Local Laws team could be engaged to offer assistance.

Team Supervisor Local Laws with the City of Melbourne Kosmo Kanatsidis said there was no existing service to help people bolt cut or recover stolen bicycles.

“We don’t work with stolen bikes, we always refer to the police,” he said.

“But we do get those calls a lot because police do have a habit of saying call the council first, and if they do call us, we check our cage but it’s generally not there,” Mr Kanatsidis said.

Local councils do have a service called abandoned bicycles, where bicycles reported abandoned are tagged and checked. If after seven days the bike has not been moved it will be bolt cut and stored in a cage for a further seven days.

If you have the time to wait it could be an option, but there seems to be no common steps or wisdom for cutting locks.

Turning to the local community for assistance has resulted in friendly neighbours offering assistance, so don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Ed offered a last piece of advice for those hoping to avoid getting their bike stolen.

“Given enough time they will be able to steal anything from anywhere, it just a matter of not making it easy,” he said.

“The best combo is a cheap looking bike and an expensive looking
lock.” •