Originally Posted by patc
Hmm, well it's certainly worth consideration, but I'm not sure its the worth the time/cost. My LBS copied the serial number to the receipt for warrante use anyway, I would think most would (?) so it should not be too much more effort to periodically upload the info. To be worth it, though, you need a police force willing to be proactive in fighting bicycle theft. Will they make more than token responses to stolen bike reports? Will they commit to checking every last bike found against the serial number database? Will they look at programs such as decoy bikes, to catch thieves?
To be blunt I think any type of crime is only as common as it is convenient - if bike thieves, or vandals, or car thieves, etc. get get away with it, they will. If it is known that there is no active policing of an area, and/or that the crime will not be taken seriously, then you can expect a high rate of that type of crime. A bike serial number database could be a good tool if local police forces have the time, resources, and willingness to use that tool as part of an active crime fighting program.
As Al mentioned in this thread, I am also not willing to carve or stamp a number into a new bike - if for no other reason than it makes the bike unreturnable and would void the warrante on the frame. The bike has a good and unique number stamped into it already!
You have good point that police resources are stretched thin and they have bigger priorities. They often just don't take it seriously either and I think, for those reasons alone, they support the initiative because the program is a deterrent, meaning thieves perhaps won't steal bikes as often as they do here if it is difficult to get rid of. Any fool that tries to get rid of it will either have it seized at the store or, if the store employees aren't willing to become directly involved and risk a confrontation, risk a report of their description being given to the cops. It serves to make bike theft an inconvenience, as you point out. When there are an estimated ten to twenty thousand bike thefts per year in a city, the cops tend to take it more seriously than other cities, so maybe they're not as unconcerned or apathetic as we think.