To England Will I Steal, and There I'll Steal

Despite what Kryptonite says, there is still a lot of bike theft in this town. Four of my friends have had their bike stolen - and another lost a wheel and seat - this summer alone. If you've had a bike stolen and want to keep hope alive, then this post if for you...

[UK] Conservative leader David Cameron says his bicycle was stolen after he left it locked outside a supermarket while he shopped near his home in west London.

He was at a Tesco branch on Portobello Road when the bike - which he joked was "an old friend" - disappeared.

And he should have held his breath, because he got it back!

British opposition leader David Cameron has been reunited with his stolen bicycle thanks to a tabloid newspaper and a supporter of the rival Labour Party, the paper reported Sunday.

The Sunday Mirror said it located the bicycle - dumped in a nearby street - with the help of 60-year-old resident Ernest Theophile, who enlisted neighborhood youths to trace it.

Theophile was identified by the paper as a staunch supporter of Britain's left-leaning Labour Party.

"You never want to see anyone have their bike nicked (stolen) - not even a Tory," he was quoted as saying.

So true. But alas, there are more thieves on the loose.

More than 3,000 of the sturdy grey [Velib] bicycles have gone missing since then. Some have turned up as far away as Romania and, according to one report, Australia.

In some cities, the police actually catch and arrest bike thieves.

A Toronto bike shop owner is now facing more than 60 charges after a brazen daylight theft led police to a massive stash of stolen bicycles stockpiled at several locations across the city.

Over a period of five days, police recovered between 1,200 and 1,500 bicycles, as well as about 1.5 kilos of marijuana and several ounces of crack cocaine, in a store, residence and several garages while executing a series of search warrants.

Igor Kenk, owner of The Bicycle Clinic at 927 Queen St. W., was arrested last Wednesday after police officers said they witnessed a man directing another person to use bolt cutters to remove the locks off two bikes in front of his store.

Police allege Kenk was paying people to bring him stolen bikes.

Police were setting up a bait bike on Queen St. W. when they caught sight of a man directing someone to cut locks off two bikes at about 3 p.m., Roseto said.

A bait bike? If only DC cared enough...Anyway those search warrants led to others

Toronto police have seized 700 more bicycles after executing three more search warrants in relation to the city's largest bike theft ring.

The additional seizure brings the total number of bikes stolen to around 3,200.

And for your feel-good moment (Ok for some having the thief arrested and thrown in jail is the feel-good moment) there is this...

In a reunion of riders and Raleighs, police from 14 Division started handing bicycles back to their rightful owners this morning, during a three-day open house of recovered property.

By noon today over 30 bikes had been reclaimed by their owners, police say.

As BlogTO puts it

bikes are one of the most personal things to steal from somebody. Everybody has an attachment to their bike, and everybody needs their bike in some way. In some cases it is the primary mode of transportation and for others it may be a recreational pursuit, but we all need and love our bikes.

BTW, one of my friends got her bike back when she saw someone else riding it - and the guy they tracked it back to was already in jail.

Update: Since writing this I had a bike stolen. Don't get too angry. It wasn't actually my bike. It was a bike I rented in Rehoboth - so none of that personal loss thing. And since it was a cheap little single speed, I was only out $200. I feel stupid though. They gave me a cheap little cable lock and I locked it to a streetsign outside the Bottle and Cork - which unlike the Starboard has no bike parking (just saying, if you have a choice). The theif just had to lift it up and over. Still, if you see a pink, step through bike with a basket (what? It's very practicle) with a Fun Beach license plate at some group house - that person stole my bike, and I want it returned.

Comments

[The Scribe of Rotten Hill]

I wrote about this a while back on my blog - my main thought was that when my bike was stoln, not one national daily newspaper sprung to my aid!

[Pete]

Ya know, I've often thought of setting up my own bike stings and trying to pull off a citizen's arrest but I suspect I'd just get sued.

[A]

Sometimes you see suspicious posts on craigslist http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/bik/798570098.html