A recent stolen bike listing describes a brazen thief clipping bike locks in broad daylight on NE Broadway Blvd:
“My bike was stolen a few hours ago outside Costello’s Travel Cafe on NE Broadway between 22nd and 23rd. It was 7:00pm, bright out, and busy on the street. A woman who was parking right beside the thief challenged him when she saw his bolt cutter, and he gave her the finger and rode away. He cut through a wire rope lock quickly. He was white with brown hair, a mustache, a lump on his neck like a cyst, jeans, a dark t-shirt and a dark baseball hat. He carried a green bag slung across his chest. About 35 years old, 5′10″ and about 175 pounds. Very brazen and very quick with his work.”
Keep your eyes peeled for this guy…or better yet, trash your cable lock and invest in something he can’t cut through.
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Obviously this was reported to the police, correct? It’s one thing to let the blog community know, quite another to make sure this gets reported to the police so that it can be tracked.
Too bad the police won’t do anything about it. A sting operation would be expensive and if they were lucky only net a couple “petty” criminals. The Police talk a great deal about being part of the solution to the stolen bike problem, but they do not seem capable of any innovative thinking or significant resource allocation.
When people are using bikes more and more as their primary means of transportation, the theft of this “vehicle” should be more on par with auto theft. We all know what is likely to REALLY happen, which is that BikePortland.org’s publicity will have people on the lookout for this guy . . . lets hope the police can respond quickly if they get the call.
The police are too busy setting up stings to catch cyclist who don’t stop at stop signs. It’s much more profitable than catching some assface bike thief who will most likely not even see the inside of a jail cell.
Some solutions:
Take your bike indoors with you, when possible.
Use a U lock with cable for wheels, seat, etc.
Have a real junker if you have to leave it downtown often for long periods out of your site, (ie going work, or to the movies). Leave your high end bike(s) for rides where you can stay near it or at least in view of it.
If you love to ride a high end bike and must leave it out of view, paint it with primer with a brush or rattle can and make it look like a junker.
Park your bike in view from the window of the restaurant or venue you are attending.
Park it by the window of a restaurant NEAR where you are going so folks may assume you ARE watching it from inside.
Another thought: If you’re going somewhere like a doctor visit, etc., it doesn’t hurt to call ahead and ask them if you can bring your bike in. I manage a mental health clinic downtown and when clients ask to bring their bikes up, I always find space for them. The worst a place or business can say is no, but you’d be surprised at how many places would say yes when asked.
So it was my red Specialized that was stolen, and I did call the police about 10 minutes after it happened. I spoke with the witness and learned the man’s identifying features, thinking the cops could cruise around the neighborhood with their eyes peeled since the crime had just occurred. It took the officer TWO HOURS to arrive. I’d called 3 times in those 2 hours and talked with whomever I could, and was told by one unsympathetic officer that all of the cops were out catching the “bad guys.”
When the officer finally arrived, he showed some empathy and expressed frustration at the increase of this kind of crime. He said the thief would almost definitely not do jail time if caught, that he’d be put on probation, and probably be required to do community service. Not much of a deterrent.