Alexandria Police want to keep requirement that bike shops register bike sales

Alexandria's Police Department is asking the city to retain an ordinance that

 requires businesses that buy or sell bikes to “report to the police chief every bicycle purchased or sold … as well as the name and address of the person from whom it is purchased or to whom it is sold.”

Police officials argue that the provision helps them keep track of stolen bikes as well as more easily identify thieves and the owners of recovered bicycles. Although the longstanding section of the code was never enforced, officials hope to set up a registry in the near future.

But bike shop owners said such a registry would prove onerous to implement as well as inefficient compared with databases that they already recommend to buyers.

Some store owners want to see the city use the National Bike Registry the way DC does. It is cheaper and it does carry a network effect advantage. What if you buy a bike in Alexandria but it's recovered by the Arlington Police Department? When my wife bought her bike, it came pre-registered with the National Bike Registry. 

Bruce Dwyer, a member of the Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, said that although the committee has not taken an official position on the issue, he thinks using the national registry would be a better solution for police.

Furthermore, the police don't currently have a registry or a timetable for getting one. 

The AlexTimes weighs in

We could make the case that this is an invasion of privacy — there’s probably a bad NSA joke in here somewhere — but the logical and practical arguments strike us as compelling enough. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel — just encourage cyclists to sign their ride up with the National Bike Registry.

The proposed ordinance BTW

makes changes to the City code regarding riding bicycles on the sidewalk, sets up a process for demarcating sidewalks on which bicycle riding would be prohibited, eliminates antiquated and unused bicycle registration procedures and makes changes to rules for riding that are consistent with state law, which applies in neighboring jurisdictions.

There's a lot of good stuff in there besides removing registration and allowing sidewalk cycling. It redefines a bicycle and defines things like paths and bike lanes. It removes the requirement to ride right. It removes the requirement to use a bike path when one is available (who knew?). It allows for riding up to two abreast. It allows for parking bikes in more places. It requires front and rear lights, but removes the requirement for bells. And finally it changes the standard for helmets that those under 14 must wear.

Comments

[CyclingFool]

I think it's superfluous and redundant of the National Bike Registry to have a separate registry in Alexandria.

Personally, I'd be more impressed if they did more on stolen bikes than simply taking a report. My Surly LHT was stolen from my building's basement in March. The value of my bike with dynamo lighting system, racks fenders, etc. was pushing $2,000, but other than taking my report over the phone, I don't think officers ever did anything on the case. I imagine the response to a report of a stolen car of similar value would have been more serious, but maybe I'm wrong on that.

When I lived in NE DC several years ago and a bike was stolen from the garage of the house I was sharing with a couple folks, MPD came to my house and talked to me and took additional information. If nothing else, it made me feel like my case mattered on some level. I've never once heard of a bike thief being caught or charged in Alexandria, while I have heard of it happening in DC and Arlington, for instance, and I have heard of sting operations with bait/dummy bikes in those jurisdictions, too. I, for one, would appreciate a more vigorous and more public effort on the part of Alexandria PD to do something about bike theft, or at least publicize and communicate their efforts better to the community, something that goes beyond shuffling more paper, which is what it sounds like the sales registry amounts to.

So, if the PD's desire to have bike sales registered is part of some new grand strategy actually to crack down on and do something about bike theft, then so be it, but I honestly can't see how it will be any more helpful to them than the NBR. It will also miss all the sales that happen outside of bike shops, like the used MTB frame I purchased off Craigslist to build up a new bike.