[Lincolnparkdc] Alley Thefts - Secure Your Bikes! - That Means Bring Them Inside - The Big Picture

Sat Oct 10 21:16:48 EDT 2020

 Yes, consider the bike your sculpture. When it's inside, hang a basket of flowers from it, at least  you'll keep your bike instead of having it stolen.  
What percentage of stolen bikes do you think are ever found by the police--even with registration and photos--5 percent? 1 percent? A bike may be sold whole or quickly dismantled and sold in parts. These thefts are not new and have been happening for decades. Now it seems they're on the increase, or at least more of us know about the thefts thanks to social media.
Thieves are stepping up their activity in broad daylight. Thieves are coordinating their heists with vehicles, too, so they can pile more goods in at once. Tearing open packages in broad daylight so they can take more and leave the shipping container behind. Has your security camera done its job as a deterrent? No license tags caught on camera because the stash vehicle is parked around the block? Head of suspect down to avoid facial recognition?

Neighbors, there remains the question that never seems to get asked with bike or package thefts (yes, we've experienced that, too). Where are the thieves selling the stolen goods? A thief who wants a bike knows it's risky to ride around on a stolen one, even if the bike gets a quick spray paint and is altered a bit. Clearly there are points for fencing these goods, where buyers are eagerly purchasing stolen bikes, bike parts, the contents of our delivery packages, and the smart phones that get snatched on the street (illegal market value, $50). Do retailers get notices of stolen goods quickly and send out alarms if a suspect tries to get a refund or make an exchange for stolen goods? Where do the thieves sell the goods? Who are the buyers? Are they local shadow markets and shops? Or are our belongings getting bundled and shipped to a market out of town where they're less "hot"? There must be quite a market for this stuff given the frequency with which theft occurs. Instead of looking at the big picture and figuring out how to put a stop to it at both points (theft and sale), each theft is a surprise to the injured party with expessions of sympathy and suggestions given by wellwishers, and there it stops. 
We hear no news of any consquences for these crimes. The thief and buyer seem to have few worries about arrests, fines, or restitution of property. Surely there's more that can be done if we can think it through to see how we can help each other to deter these incidents and help police solve them if they occur. Does anyone have suggestions?
Thanks,
Judy

    On Saturday, October 10, 2020, 06:58:58 PM EDT, citymom92 at gmail.com <citymom92 at gmail.com> wrote:  

 I wholeheartedly endorse keeping bikes inside. We have space in our basement but because we ride frequently we keep them in our dining room. Yes. The dining room. When we have company over the bikes go downstairs and we haven’t had a bike stolen since 2000, when we left them out back with our gate closed while we got the kids in after a ride. They were gone in 10 mins. 
Gina Arlotto. 

On Oct 7, 2020, at 3:44 PM, JE Writer Editor <writejudy2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:

 Bike Owners,
All of the suggestions below are good, but may I suggest that you keep your bikes indoors? 
It's a hassle (I had to carry mine up and down three flights of stairs) and it takes up valuable inside space. But over the years, I've had three bikes stolen. All were locked and secured to iron bars--two with chains and one with kryptonite. The thief could not break through the latter, so dismantled the bike piece by piece under the front window while we were inside! Only the frame was left and the cost to replace the parts alone was greater then the purchase price of a new bike. I kept increasing the security of the locks and registering the information as suggested. It simply didn't work. The only solution was to bring the bike inside. Yes, it took up valuable floor space in an apartment. You may not want to heed this advice, but I kept my fourth bike for years and used it a lot. It's painful to think of my losses and those of my neighbors and I hope that I can save at least one other bike from being stolen. 
Happy trails,
Judy
    On Wednesday, October 7, 2020, 01:21:28 PM EDT, Brett Reynolds <brettreynolds at gmail.com> wrote:  

 Neighbors,
Pardon the interruption but I wanted to send out an alert about an apparent rash of bike thefts in our neighborhood's alleys in recent weeks.
We're in the 100 Block of Tennessee Ave NE, and had two bikes stolen from our back storage area Sunday night. The thieves scaled our 9-foot tall privacy fence to get inside and must have tossed the bikes over. (Fortunately, I recovered one of the bikes the next day with the help of Montgomery County Police when it was listed for sale on on-line marketplace sites.)
Since mentioning this to various people and local bike shops, I've heard reports of a lot of alley thefts of bikes and other property in the vicinity of Lincoln Park in the past couple of weeks, including a number of bikes stolen as recently as last night.
So keep an eye out and secure your property the same way you would if it were out in the open, even if it's behind a fence or gate. 
Having gone through the experience now, I strongly suggest taking note of your bike serial numbers, having several good photos of your bikes, and also consider registering your bike with BikeIndex and/or Project529. Having the serial number and any other evidence of ownership will be a huge step towards recovering your bike if it's stolen and ever found. And when police come across a bunch of bikes suspected as stolen, they run the serial numbers in databases like BikeIndex, Project529, or county/state databases. (DC MPD uses Project529.) If your bike is registered, not only can they get it back to you, but it will help provide additional evidence of the seller trafficking in stolen property.
Stay safe,Brett Reynolds_______________________________________________
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