So I'm fliping around on the TV. I land on Court TV for a second and see some cops in an office with a bicycle. Bicycle enthusist that I am, I stop and watch for a second, I figured it was about bike cops. Turns out, it was the Albuquerque NM police doing busts for larceny. They specifically selected a $3900 (what the cop on TV said) Mercedes Benz bicycle. I did a little seaching and this article shows what looked like the bike, minus all the "police" labels on it and no bag on the rear rack.

The cop on the show said that it was a class II felony due to the value of the bike (if it were stolen).

So, one cop in plainclothes walks the bike to a convience store and parks it against the wall without locking it up. He then walks off and he and the other cops sit and watch from some distance away. Well, sure enough, some dude (who appears to be an immigrant) looks at the bike and then procedes to walk off with it. Then the cops pounce. The dude gives no resistance, and then says that he thought that someone left the bike so he took it. And then they cuff and arrest him.

Bust #2: This time, the undercover cop leaves the bike outside a liquor store (which isn't in view from inside the store, it is on a outside wall with no windows). This time, two dudes walk by. One of them grabs the bike and starts walking with it. The cops pounce. One of the undercover cops gets hit by the dude, and they scuffle. He gets arrested, and they tell him he is charged with a felony. The dude acts suprised. The cop tells him it is a $3900 bike and the guy is like "what!?" The police officer then tells him it is a mercedes benz bike. and they arrest him.

Now, here is my problem. They purposely leave the bike in a depressed part of town. They choose a super expensive bike, and they leave it unlocked in a "bad" part of town, at night. Now, I keep up with bikes a little, and I did not recognize this bike. It didn't look much different than some of the cheaper bikes out there with the exception of the disk brakes and suspension. The brand wasn't obvious from the TV show. I believe that if the cops had left a lesser value new bike in the same circumstances, they still would have been stolen. They might have even left a completely beater bike and the same result would have happened. Then the dude who grabs it, gets charged with a class II felony due to the value of the bike.

My second problem is that the bike is completely unlocked. Now I often leave my bike unlocked outside a convience store (at night) when I'm just running in to grab something. But I leave mine in view from the cash register, so I can keep an eye on it (or the cashier would have the opportunity to see someone else grab it). I do lock it up if I'm leaving it for some time. Of course, my bike is worth a lot less than $3900 (or $2000 according to the link I provided above). Now, the bike did look to be expensive, and to my trained eye (provided I didn't realize it was a MB brand bike) I would have guessed that it was maybe a $1000 bike. To the untrained eye, it could have been confused for a $100-$300 bike.

I mean, they could have at least put a cheap lock on the bike, and I could have been OK with the bust (except I believe it is over the top to select a "$3900" or a $2000 bike as bait) but to leave a bike unlocked in an urban area, out of sight from anyone from inside the store late at night I believe is excessive. And I believe it was particularly cruel to select a bike with a high enough value to get a class II felony.

I just felt that the busts that the cops were doing was way out of line and unreasonable. To choose such an expensive bike made it that much more revolting. To leave it unlocked was the icing on the cake.

My next problem is this. This was in a depressed part of town (the cops admitted this much). Now, in poorer parts of town, there are people without transportation other than walking. A bike can be a godsend. It can enable someone to ride to a job, and get things done in a timely manner. A bike with a rack (which this one had) is even better, because you can carry things like groceries on it. It can be a really useful tool, especially for a poor person. The whole episode on TV just left me as being really low down and dirty. I mean, if they had locked it, and someone busted the lock, I would have felt much better about the busts (aside from the fact that they chose a rediculously expensive bike).

Now, I'm not so much defending the dudes who grabbed a bike which they knew wasn't theirs, as much as I feel the cops were baiting them. I mean, if they left an ipod on the ground, wouldn't you expect someone to pick it up and take it? Why did they (the cops) feel the need to use such an expensive bike? Why didn't they at least lock it up with a cheap lock? Why did they leave a bike out at night which would have been illegal to ride (in this case the bike didn't have a headlight , and it didn't appear to have a tail light, would some one think: "did the owner just ride up, or has it been there all day?"). It my town (a college town) bikes are often abandoned. Some are tossed out, some are left locked up (and sometimes partially stripped) and some are just plain left. The abandoned ones which are locked are eventually grabbed by the cops and sold at auction. Now I own a bike. I like it, it is a beater but it is mine. I wouldn't want anyone stealing it, but I know that if I leave it unlocked in town and out of sight, there is a strong possibility that it would be stolen. Not so much for someone to pawn, but stolen for riding. I have picked up tossed out bikes. In the past, I have cut a lock on a stripped frame, after observing it for a month or two (it was an LL Bean bike, so don't jump on my case). That bike was eventually built up from spare parts and given to a friend. I have also picked up an unlocked bike that again was observed for weeks(in this case, it was on public property, not outside someone's house or apartment). I gave that one to someone who needed a bike. I've bought a $10 diamond back at an estate sale(again, for someone eles). Maybe I'm justifying my actions, but I feel that if someone leaves a bike unlocked on public space for weeks at a time with a flat tire, then they are giving it away. I'm not advocating bicycle thievery, but I feel that if someone can use a bike, and it is just sitting there apparently abandoned, than get that bike to persons in need. Friends of mine have had bikes stolen from their residence (left outside) and I feel that is wrong. Am I wrong, or is it just my own "honor among thieves" morality? My own bike was purchased from a university auction, so it was probably abandoned. Am I just cutting the state out of its share of the spoils?

I don't want to confuse the issue. In my first cases, the ones on the TV show, it is obvious that the persons who took the bike didn't wait for the owner to claim it. I can accept that it is a crime of opportunity but I feel the cops weren't exactly doing the right thing. In my own case, I do leave a bike for the owner to get it (sometimes weeks, sometimes months). What is the proper "grace" period on an abandoned bike?

What do you think?

Sorry if this was long, but I would like others' opinions on these issues.

I agree with you. I think it's a miscarriage of justice to bait an uninformed opportunist in a poor part of town with an expensive bike, thus luring the poor uninformed slob into committing a felony. I fail to see what they're trying to accomplish. It will certainly do nothing to target sophisticated theft rings that target high end bikes. And if they're trying to target crimes of opportunity, why lure these people into committing a felony? Why not just tag them for stealing an inexpensive bike-- it's not like they know the difference.

From the standpoint of preventing bike theft, I think this does nothing, and I'm disappointed with the effort. A little research into bike theft, and a campaign that targets the theft rings would have actually done something worthwhile. This was just BS windowdressing that did nothing. Shame on the Albuquerque Police Dept.

You're wrong. You shouldn't assume that a bike is being "given away." If it's locked, it belongs to somebody. If it's unlocked, it may have been stolen and abandoned. Either way, they're not there for the taking. They have an owner, somewhere, unless you know for a fact that they've been abandoned by the owner. If you think a bike is abandoned, report it to the cops. At least that way, the owner has the opportunity to reclaim the bike.

I'll be the first to agree that cutting the lock (on a stripped frame) was wrong. It was probably ten years ago(and I wasn't as wise as I am now). However, to my defense, all the bikes I've seen @ the university and police auctions have wheels. I believe that frames are tossed.

When I say that I pick up tossed bikes, they are out with the trash (not too uncommon here) and are clearly being thrown away. I've gotten at least 3 bikes this way, and have turned down many others because they aren't the quality I am looking for.

Now, let me also set the scene a little: in this town, a lot of stuff is thrown out when the semester ends. It is a small town (~25,000 when school is out, ~50,000 when school is in).

Edit:
Oh, and another little cop story. I have one bike that I just picked up. I have a friend that lives near the rail road tracks. Late at night, she saw this dude walking a bike by the tracks. Her bike had been stolen a few months back. So she sees him, and yells out: Yo, where did you get that bike! (it did not resemble hers) and the dude drops it and walks away. So she calls the cops. He[the cop] comes by, looks at the bike, says to the effect: "well I can't tell whose it is, it has no stickers on it" he leaves it(the university here requires stickers on campus). Now you and I know that all bikes have a S/N number on them, usually on the BB. The cop didn't care. Who ever had the bike pieced it togeather. It was built for 26" wheels, but had a 24" rear. The seatpost was the wrong size. The rear derailleur cable was missing. Now it is sitting on my porch. I'm planning on fixing it and getting to another friend of mine.

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.

People should not take things that don't belong to them. Period.

Which would you prefer? A bike theft sting that nets a couple of slobs (who saw an opportunity and took it) on a felony charge, or a bike theft sting that busts a bike theft ring? Which one is likely to put a dent in bike theft?

This one was all show and no go.

If someone sees an opportunity to commit a crime and takes it, I don't refer to them as "slobs", I prefer to call them "criminals". Honest, law-abiding citizens who see the opportunity to commit a crime will walk away from the opportunity. Thankfully, these people make up the vast majority of our population.

I'd prefer to see a bike theft ring get busted than one isolated criminal. Obviously, breaking up a ring will do more to curb thefts than busting a person acting alone. However, this isn't an "either-or" proposition. Law enforcement should go after both the petty criminals as well as organized theft rings. And both the ringleaders and petty criminals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Just because temptation is put in their way is no excuse.

The thiefs deserve all they get.

I agree that the there are probably better ways to spend police manpower.





How does one recognize an immigrant on sight anyway?

It helps if you live among them. Give it a try.

I don't like what the cops did because I feel they could have played this game anywhere and had the same result. They could have choosen a suburban shopping mall, and some teenager would have taken it. They could have put a wallet out, instead of a bike and someone would have taken it. The first guy they busted, I really had sympathy for because I really believe the guy just wanted a bike to ride because he was poor. The second guy I have no sympathy for because he punched the undercover cop as he tried to get the bike(it could have been the owner, for example). I believe that in our culture (which one can argue this many ways) it is expected that we lock our things up. Our cars take keys, our houses have locks, and on and on. I'm sure you've heard the phrase "locks only keep out the honest people" which in itself is paradoxical. If people were always truely honest, we wouldn't need locks anywhere. If they had merely free locked the bike (locked such that it cannot be ridden) then I could agree with the bust. What I take issue with, is they took a boutique bike (like Mercedes Benz actually makes the bike) with an excessively high retail price (inflated due to the branding) and leave it unlocked in a shady part of town, with the intent of making the punishment that much more severe. They could have used a Huffy or a Murray if they just wanted to get the point across that you shouldn't be taking an unlocked bike. Instead, I feel that they have presented a ambiguous situation, with a possibly abandoned bike, and preyed on peoples' weaknesses. I mean, the bike to me doesn't look much different from cheap department store bikes that I have seen abandoned (out by the trash). Not that the value of the bike is the importaint principle here. But if it is the difference between a guy getting a year (or more) in jail (around here a class II felony is punishable with 1-10 years in prision), and a guy getting a punishment that fits the crime. Of course, I'm writing this on a bike forum, so I wouldn't be suprised if someone chimes in with a lets hang 'em sentiment.

Now, I'm the kind of guy who leaves my doors to my house unlocked. I leave my bike on the front porch unlocked. Maybe I'm asking for it, but it has been a few years and nobody has taken it. But I ride a beater (with fenders and a basket) so maybe it isn't desirable. I've had things stolen. I've had my car broken in to (now I leave it unlocked, because the damage from the break in cost more than they stole).

I think that people are basically honest. If I left some tools on the street, I'd expect them to be grabbed. Not because they are valuable, but because they are useful. Bikes are useful. Not every bike thief is a crackhead looking for a fix. We live in a wasteful society.

What I saw on TV seemed like a cruel socialogical experiment, not solid proactive law enforcement. I also don't like the busts where a female officer dresses like a hooker to get "johns" but now I'm getting off topic.

Who purposely buys a $2000 bike and leaves it unattended out in the town?

Dress it up any way you want, this still comes out as a pathetic attempt to bust poor people-- dishonest poor people, if you like-- on a felony rap. I agree that it doesn't have to be an either/or situation, that we want to catch the opportunist as well as the bike theft ring. BUT... it's clear that busting a couple of dishonest poor people on a felony rap was higher on their list of priorities than busting a bike theft ring. And that's precisely backwards. If you're concerned about high-buck bike theft, then do a proper sting-- a high buck bike locked up in a neighborhood where high buck bikes are stolen. Or do a bike theft sting at the University. This had nothing to do with bike theft-- it could have been anything, a sandwich for instance, and these opportunists would have grabbed it. So they're dishonest-- bust them. But on a felony rap? What problem does that solve? Now we have two guys in jail, and not a single bike thief-- a guy who makes his living stealing/fencing bikes-- in jail.

And no amount of window dressing changes that fact.

And from the photo, the bike looks more like a Wal-Mart bike than a high end one.

Haven't the police got anything better to do than create the opportunity for people to commit crimes, perhaps like catching criminals who offend without their help?

BTW, I'm pretty sure entrapment is illegal here in the UK.

I don't know why it isn't illegal here.

Perhaps it's because a lot of law-men in the US are elected and it would be an easy way to boost their arrest & conviction statistics, therefore giving the appearance that they are more effective than would otherwise be the case.

Green card hangoing out of back pocket?

problem is have off them are fake green cards, me I never carry mine.

My mother taught me, at a very young age, if something does not belong to me, I cannot take it. It is not mine. It doesn't matter how much the bike costs or whether it was locked or what part of town it is being 'set up' in. If someone steals it, they should be busted. No-one gave it to them. It was not clearly abandoned. The thieves were opportunistic and dishonest, seemingly taking advantage of someone's negligence and disregarding the consequences of their actions. They deserve everything they get, provided it is a hefty fine, prison term or other punishment.

There are very moral, honesty poor people with ethics and principles and there are immoral, dishonest poor people who are unethical and lacking in principles just as there are identical middle class and wealthy people.

That police sting is pure BS. when i lived in Toronto the police did a very similar sting. I had just finished putting together a bike with high end parts that i worked hard for and saved for months to buy. 1 week after i finished building it I locked it up together with my girlfriends $300 bike for 5 minutes. the theives broke the lock, took my bike and left hers on the ground. my point is there are theives out there that know good bikes and carry the tools to break locks. these are the criminals the police should be after. leaving a $3000 bike unlocked outside accomplishes NOTHING! these cops are too lazy to actually bust real theives.

I would be perfectly cool with the sting if, the following night, they set that operation up outside the 7/11 directly across from the football game of the most exclusive private school in the city. It would be interesting to see what transpires after the children of state senators, ceo's, bank presidents find themselves with felony arrests. I don't think that footage would make the TV program.

+1

I can take it at face value as the kind of bust that cops in the U.S. pull all the time (the kind that reeks of entrapment) but to throw in the fancy bike just to hike it up to "felony" status is disgraceful. I have seen a couple stings like this on shows like COPS and they never even try to get the bike theives who will break a lock to get your ride- those are the ones I'm worried about.

Real $3900 bicycles are not stolen while they have just been left outside of a Mobile station unlocked, unattended at night in a poor neighborhood. The police are creating a problem so that they can solve it and go back to HQ saying "look what we did boys"

I am of the mindset that if a poor man steals bread to put on his family's table, he is just doing what he has to do. The poster who mentioned that a bike could be a "godsend" for someone in this impoverished neighborhood is absolutely right. Now we can only speculate about the motives of the guy who stole that bike, but in a poor neigborhood where there's next to no upward mobility, no good jobs to be found, there's a good chance he just saw it as an opportunity to get himself a much needed vehicle. How many other people in the same community would have done the exact same thing? I would imagine, a lot of them.

This is how the US wages war on poverty, by finding crooked ways of turning your average poor guy into a class II felon and sending him to prison with a bunch of other poor guys.

Well, for it to be entrapment, an undercover cop would have to suggest to the thief that he should take the bike. This had all the aspects of entrapment except for the undercover cop egging him on.

As far as the "immigrant" comment. It doesn't really matter if the guy was an immigrant. I believe he was, because as he spoke to the cops, he had a thick accent. He also didn't seem to know much english because he used very simple words. But it is irrelevent to the discussion. I mentioned it because if the guy was fluent in english, he might have talked his way out of getting arrested. The cops heard all they needed when he said that he thought somebody left it and so he took it. Did he think somebody misplaced it? Did he think somebody intentionally left it for others? I can't read minds, and neither can the cops. A lock on a bike says "this is my property, do not take it" but an unlocked bike doesn't send the same message. That is the only reason I put the immigrant comment in there. He could have been an "undocumented worker" for all I know. I didn't suggest he was an immigrant solely based on his appearance, he also spoke on the video. So no, I can't recognise immigrants on sight, nor do I claim to be able to.

property property property. Is that cash is your pocket your property, or the goverments? The cops couldn't have done this sting with a hundred dollar bill laying on the ground. Could they have done the same with a CD player? What about a razor scooter? A skateboard? I'm all for bike thieves getting caught, but this wasn't about getting bike thieves, this was shooting fish in a barrel.

Do you condsider leaving a bike in the city unlocked as irresponsible? Or is it just foolish or unwise? Or is it proper behavior for a bike owner to leave his highly portable device sitting unlocked out in public? This was nothing more than an honesty test. How many of you have made a bad decision in a fraction of a second?

If I had instead started a thread lamenting that my $2000 dollar bike was taken because I left it in the city unlocked, would I have been called a fool or an idiot, or both? A $100 dollar bike has 2 wheels, a handlebar and a seat. A $3000 dollar bike has 2 wheels, a handlebar and a seat. The devil is in the details. To the uninformed, a bike is a bike is a bike. A $100 bike quickly depreciates to the point at which it doesn't seem unreasonable for someone to leave it for others. This is why I see them out with the trash. A $500 bike doesn't depreciate as quickly, but it will eventually also get to the point at which it is thrown out. It happens.

But the problem with this scenario is that the kid's dad would hire a crack law team to prove that the bike was not actually worth the declared value.
Dink. Not a felony. Makes law enforcement look like they're wasting time busting petty thieves.
Since the key evidence has been thrown into question, the case itself starts getting shaky. A few cries of "Local Police are using entrapment to harass our kids!" shouted from the rooftops and the case gets dismissed.

As it is, the perpetrators will likely have a court appointed lawyer who could give crap about the facts of the case. They'll be encouraged to take a plea bargain to stay out of court and will probably still have some jail time thrown in, for good measure.

Just because I'm paranoid does NOT mean I'm not being watched.