Touring - Cops swiped my bike!

There is a thread down the page about stealth camping, which reminded me of the last time I did that...

Living in Kalamazoo, MI at the time and mountain biked down the Kal-Haven trail to South Haven with my wife and a couple friends. Locked the bikes together and to a pole.

Went out and got drunk, snuck down to the beach and tried to erect a new tent in the dark. Bad idea. A new tent can be tough enough to figure out without being drunk and blind.

In the morning we found that our bikes were gone. Called the police and described the bikes. They had them.

We went down there promptly. My hair looked like Don King's.

Police had "collected" the bikes in the night to prevent them from being "stolen." This had to take some SERIOUS work on their part. We asked what they would have done with the bikes had we not called. Naturally they responded, "We sell 'em."

They then led us to a shed with at least fifty bikes ready to be auctioned. They seemed sad when we took our's and left.

Unfortunately, I have to go with the cops on this one. While I can understand your point of view, and how the situation could be abused, the fact is, if you were to do this on the beach at say, Surfers Paradise, chances are they would be stolen. Sometimes it's easy to forget that the police have a responsibility to prevent crime as well as punish it.

I certainly respect that perspective!

Originally posted by Chris L
Unfortunately, I have to go with the cops on this one. While I can understand your point of view, and how the situation could be abused, the fact is, if you were to do this on the beach at say, Surfers Paradise, chances are they would be stolen. Sometimes it's easy to forget that the police have a responsibility to prevent crime as well as punish it.

Very good point, Chris.

Weird idea - The cops taking LOCKED bikes !

Come to any town or city in Europe, you will find bikes, always locked, attached to street furnature day and night - and yes some stay there for many months and are only removed once they have gone rusty and the tires are flat

Why don't the cops take the ide further and start removing locked parked cars ? No cars, no car crime.

I can see the police taking a bike that has been locked up there for more than a day or so. And they could tell this very easily by leaving a note on the bike.

As for taking the bike to keep it from being stolen. Well... ok. But did they at least leave a note saying they had removed it and why? I mean, come on. That is the same as stealing to me. Not to mention, did they repay you for the cost of your bike lock which was obviously destroyed?

PBW

This is coming from a good place-

Last week, I called the non-emergency police line and reported two bikes that seemed to be abandoned. In the summertime, the police go around and will tag bikes that look to be abandoned (I think a week at one location is officially abandoned) and they'll give the owners a week to move the bike. If no one comes, they remove the bike. This helps A LOT.... people are fighting for a space to park their bikes when the come into the city every day. I personally get tired of fighting with all the commuters, plus the bike couriers, etc.

They don't do this in the winter. I guess they assume there's more spots to spare, but it's just as bad. There were 2 locations I park my bike at where things were getting bad. One time, things got a bit out of hand. This guy unlocked my kryptonite chain (the new heavy expensive one) with his kryptonite chain lock (???) and left my bike locked, but just sitting on the side of the building. After I finished my workout and got outside, I found my bike out there exposed, and I almost had a heart attack. After that, I called the police and asked them to remove the bikes that had been sitting there since at least November. Then the other bike is just outside my building where I live. That spot is worse because there's only room for 2 bikes to park. Since no one's been there since December to pick up the bike, I called the police on that one too. Geeze, I shouldn't have to fight to park my bike outside of my own building!

However, I don't agree that the police should move bikes that are out overnight. That seems a bit excessive to me. Maybe it depends on the city, but in Chicago, where it seems like every fool is out there in all seasons pedalling all day long, we need to have some kind of limit as to how long you can leave your bike out. Overnight is too short a time for me, but if it's been months (or even weeks), take the bikes away! People know who they can call to retrieve their bikes.

My two cents....

Koffee

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
This guy unlocked my kryptonite chain (the new heavy expensive one) with his kryptonite chain lock (???) HUH how the heck does that happen?? Please explain (I have one of those locks)

Well, he had his own kryptonite chain, and he simply used his key to force my lock open, then he removed my bike from the rack to make room for his bike. What an a-hole...

UMMMM that's NOT supposed to happen!! Have you contacted Kryptonite? That's sounds like a SERIOUS problem in a device that's supposed to secure your bike so that only you can access it. Yes, most definatly an a-hole

Originally posted by P. B. Walker
Not to mention, did they repay you for the cost of your bike lock which was obviously destroyed?

PBW

Actually, that was the kicker. The bikes were still locked together. They managed to lift them both, while locked together, over the top of the pole. And it was a TALL pole. We figured that they had to stand on the top of a truck or SUV to get them off.

Hmmmmm.... I had no idea there might be a problem with my Kryptonite chain lock. Actually, every Kryptonite New York lock I've ever bought (I've bought ALL the expensive ones so far)- every one- has failed me in some way or another. I'm just about fed up with them so far. Maybe I should start looking into a better bike lock? So far, I've spent about $300 on Kryptonite locks, and my bike is worth about $600. I might as well have just saved that money, got a cheap lock, and got a really nice bike.

None of my cheapie locks have ever given me problems. In fact, I now double lock my bike with the cheapie locks because I can't trust the expensive Kryptonite locks anymore. :(

Koffee

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
Hmmmmm.... I had no idea there might be a problem with my Kryptonite chain lock. Actually, every Kryptonite New York lock I've ever bought (I've bought ALL the expensive ones so far)- every one- has failed me in some way or another. I'm just about fed up with them so far. Maybe I should start looking into a better bike lock? So far, I've spent about $300 on Kryptonite locks, and my bike is worth about $600. I might as well have just saved that money, got a cheap lock, and got a really nice bike.

None of my cheapie locks have ever given me problems. In fact, I now double lock my bike with the cheapie locks because I can't trust the expensive Kryptonite locks anymore. :(

Koffee I like my NY Chain lock and I use the EV Disc lock in combo with a master lock cabe whenever my girlfriend and I are transporting the bikes. What other failures have you had?

I've had dead locks after less than 6 months of use. The first dead lock came after 1 day of use- what a load of crap! The second dead lock came after 3 months of use.

Both of them were the newest Kryptonite New York u-locks that I picked up last June.

:(

Koffee

Originally posted by easyrider

...Locked the bikes together and to a pole...

...Police had "collected" the bikes in the night to prevent them from being "stolen." This had to take some SERIOUS work on their part. We asked what they would have done with the bikes had we not called. Naturally they responded, "We sell 'em."...


IMHO the cops were just as guilty of bike theft as any common bike thief is. The bikes were locked, didn't show signs of abandonment...what the flock?!!!

Like someone else mentioned, when will they begin towing parked/locked cars away so they won't be stolen?

Those cops don't have enough to do or they should reprioritize!!

Originally posted by Chris L
Unfortunately, Sometimes it's easy to forget that the police have a responsibility to prevent crime as well as punish it.

It's real easy to forget since it's not in their job description. At least not here.

Joe