Originally Posted by
ak08820
Why did the police say that little could be done? If you have the lic. plate number, you could file a complaint and they can track down the culprit from the lic. plate.
Frame locks will not be effective when a thief with a van or pickup truck or a larger vehicle could carry the entire bike, without riding it. A cable lock attached to a pole or other stationary object is the best way to lock a bike. I used only a cheap frame lock on my bike in India - as everyone else did, because at that time everyone rode a bicycle or a scooter and very few people had cars. In the western world it is easy to steal a bike and carry it away in a vehicle.
I read a tour account where a young man on a tour from CA to VA lost his bike in Phoenix, AZ while visiting a convenience store. He had to buy a new one to continue.
The famous world traveler Heinz Stucke had his bike stolen a couple of times, too.
In my experience, they (the police) just don't care. I was purposely hit by a car, with multiple witnesses who had the license plate number and the responding police officer refused to do anything. He said I could follow up with Homicide, who told me they were too busy (in Seattle!) to help with mere attempted homicide! They ever so helpfully pointed to a giant stack of mug shot books and offered for me to go through them to see if I could ID the guy. When I asked them to just look up his address from the license plate number they refused.
Lots of cops in the US are jerks.