I have no sympathy for the bike thieves - none at all.

1. Why does it bother you that this undercover operation was done in a depressed part of town? I'll bet the police choose their locations based on crime rates. The higher the crime rates, the greater the need to take the criminals off of the streets. Depressed areas generally suffer from higher crime rates, therefore the need for enforcement is greater.

2. If they had to lock the bike up (even with a flimsy lock), the police would have to wait much longer to find a thief. The longer the wait, the fewer criminals would be snagged. This would not be an efficient use of law enforcement resources.

3. I have no problem with the fact that they used an expensive bike for the bust. A theft is a theft. Don't want to be charged with a Class II felony? Don't steal anything.

I understand your points - they aren't unreasonable. But I think that we run into trouble when we start having sympathy for criminals and offer excuses for their behaviour (i.e. they are victims of their poverty or are being targeted unfairly by the police). Criminals should be held responsible for their actions.