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Tips on getting your stolen bike BACK

PB Forum :: Scams & Stolen Bikes
Tips on getting your stolen bike BACK
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flag oceen246
Posted: Feb 19, 2014 at 8:40 Quote
flywheels wrote:
I had my bike stolen three times from me. I live in an area where we have a pretty high theft rate here. First time it was stolen , I was not able to recover it. I searched all over ebay and craigslist. Second time my bike got stolen (a different bike ) I was able to recover it by going to the police, filing a report and they somehow caught the thief when he was trying to sell it on a flea market(I gave the police pics of the bike and a serial number). The next day I got a bicycle insurance policy from Velosurance and in 2 months my bike that cops recovered got stolen again. THis time I was not able to get it back but at least with the police report the insurance company processed my claim and reimbursed me the cost of the bike. My advice : use better locks, U-locks preferably, stay away from chain locks.

How much does the insurance cost you, if you don't mind me asking?
flag bikelust
O+
Posted: Mar 3, 2016 at 10:07 Quote
OK, so here's my story.

My bike was stolen 3 years ago. Persistence and patience paid off, so I thought, when I found the bike listed on Kijiji. I contacted the police to file a second report in addition to the one I filed when the bike was originally stolen. Provided the officer with receipts, pictures, kijiji ad, serial number, distinguishing parts/marks on the bike and frame, original police report, as well as the seller's phone number.

It's been two weeks now so I called the officer to find out what's going on. She said that she will not go get the bike due to police safety issues and the number of required back-up officers before she could go get it. She also said that since it has been three years since the bike was stolen they have no way to know for sure if the person selling the bike is also the thief, or if they are just a person who bought it and is now trying to sell it, so she would not be able to press charges. She has sent it off to the under cover division of the police department to see if this is something they want to take on.

Anyone on here from Canada that has ideas what I can do next? I'm pretty sure by the time they get around to it, if they even do anything at all, the bike will be sold and the guy will get away with it. Doesn't it make sense that they still go recover the bike and charge the person with possession of stolen property or something? I find it hard to believe that with all the information I have provided that they are going to do nothing to get it back.
flag riggadon
Posted: Mar 3, 2016 at 10:15 Quote
bikelust wrote:
OK, so here's my story.

My bike was stolen 3 years ago. Persistence and patience paid off, so I thought, when I found the bike listed on Kijiji. I contacted the police to file a second report in addition to the one I filed when the bike was originally stolen. Provided the officer with receipts, pictures, kijiji ad, serial number, distinguishing parts/marks on the bike and frame, original police report, as well as the seller's phone number.

It's been two weeks now so I called the officer to find out what's going on. She said that she will not go get the bike due to police safety issues and the number of required back-up officers before she could go get it. She also said that since it has been three years since the bike was stolen they have no way to know for sure if the person selling the bike is also the thief, or if they are just a person who bought it and is now trying to sell it, so she would not be able to press charges. She has sent it off to the under cover division of the police department to see if this is something they want to take on.

Anyone on here from Canada that has ideas what I can do next? I'm pretty sure by the time they get around to it, if they even do anything at all, the bike will be sold and the guy will get away with it. Doesn't it make sense that they still go recover the bike and charge the person with possession of stolen property or something? I find it hard to believe that with all the information I have provided that they are going to do nothing to get it back.

They probably find recovery of stolen bikes a waste of their time.
flag trozei
Posted: Mar 3, 2016 at 10:53 Quote
You're going to have to put your purse down and go over there with some buddies and take your bike back. Simple as that.
flag Sorileus86
Posted: Jun 4, 2018 at 0:01 Quote
bikelust wrote:
OK, so here's my story.

My bike was stolen 3 years ago. Persistence and patience paid off, so I thought, when I found the bike listed on Kijiji. I contacted the police to file a second report in addition to the one I filed when the bike was originally stolen. Provided the officer with receipts, pictures, kijiji ad, serial number, distinguishing parts/marks on the bike and frame, original police report, as well as the seller's phone number.

It's been two weeks now so I called the officer to find out what's going on. She said that she will not go get the bike due to police safety issues and the number of required back-up officers before she could go get it. She also said that since it has been three years since the bike was stolen they have no way to know for sure if the person selling the bike is also the thief, or if they are just a person who bought it and is now trying to sell it, so she would not be able to press charges. She has sent it off to the under cover division of the police department to see if this is something they want to take on.

Anyone on here from Canada that has ideas what I can do next? I'm pretty sure by the time they get around to it, if they even do anything at all, the bike will be sold and the guy will get away with it. Doesn't it make sense that they still go recover the bike and charge the person with possession of stolen property or something? I find it hard to believe that with all the information I have provided that they are going to do nothing to get it back.

Act like a customer and go get your bike back by force, take a few friends along for support, the police usually wont do a damn thing, not unless they have reason to swing out there sidearms. I found that out after we had a neighbor threaten my family with a gun, but the police wouldn't do anything unless that person was *actually* armed.

So ya, grab some friends and pretend your an interested buyer and get your bike back Big Grin .
flag almostwise
Mod
Posted: Jun 5, 2018 at 6:55 Quote
bikelust wrote:
OK, so here's my story.



they have no way to know for sure if the person selling the bike is also the thief, or if they are just a person who bought it and is now trying to sell it, so she would not be able to press charges. She has sent it off to the under cover division of the police department to see if this is something they want to take on.

Wait, so the police are saying receiving, handling and selling stolen goods is ok?????

This kind of thing pisses me off so much.

"Hey,my $3000bike has been stolen!"
"Yeah, not really worth our time sir"
"Someone stole a pie from Walmart"
"Send in SWAT!!!"
flag Sorileus86
Posted: Jun 5, 2018 at 22:50 Quote
almostwise wrote:
bikelust wrote:
OK, so here's my story.



they have no way to know for sure if the person selling the bike is also the thief, or if they are just a person who bought it and is now trying to sell it, so she would not be able to press charges. She has sent it off to the under cover division of the police department to see if this is something they want to take on.

Wait, so the police are saying receiving, handling and selling stolen goods is ok?????

This kind of thing pisses me off so much.

"Hey,my $3000bike has been stolen!"
"Yeah, not really worth our time sir"
"Someone stole a pie from Walmart"
"Send in SWAT!!!"

LOL Pretty much.... Beer
flag OugaBooga
Posted: Jun 11, 2018 at 2:23 Quote
I find it funny how police care more about some one stealing food from a store more then getting back a citizens hard earned expensive bike.Not saying that cheap bikes deserve to be stolen & not recovered.
flag debonis
Posted: Oct 28, 2018 at 21:45 Quote
In helping to get my recently stolen bike back, aside from calling the cops, was hitting up my LBS and telling them about , along with the local Pawn Shop in town (who actually work with the police for stolen items, as they ID everyone who brings something in to sell). Also made a public facebook post .
flag TheGravelRidePodcast
O+
Posted: May 16, 2019 at 13:05 Quote
Bike Index operates a bicycle registration and stolen bike recovery system to help fight this problem. More info at bikeindex.org. The service is 100% free.
flag JacobyDH
Posted: Dec 12, 2019 at 18:07 Quote
I have a few tips... (I’m sorry if your bike is stolen)
I have a couple friends who had nice bikes that got stolen, and everyone took different approaches. One of my friends, contacted me, and we went looking around town, to see if anyone had left it anywhere, as stealing, and then dumping is common near were I am. Another one of my friends bought a cheap bike, and put trackers into the bars. He thought he could tip the police on were it was taken, and he could get his bike back, but sadly it didn’t work. Many city’s now have bike registration systems. This system would allow the police to track a stolen bike more easily, and when someone is considering buying a used bike on Craigslist, Pinkbike, Etc, they could type in the serial number, and then report it. I put a piece of paper with my contact information in my seat tube, handlebars, and fork, and put a random number sequence. This is because if my bike does happen to get stolen, I can tell the number sequence to the police, and if they find a lookalike, they can find out if it really Is mine. Taking pictures of your bike is also a good idea. Whatever happens, I hope that if your bike gets stolen (god forbid) you get it back soon, and without a struggle.

 


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