Bicycle parking
The British think the police could do more. As this is not done, they advanced in their own way – putting themselves at clear risk.
When something is stolen from us, it’s natural for us to immediately call the police if we think it’s warranted.
And what happens when the police do nothing? We look for alternatives.
That’s what Fiona Ryalls and Josh Steven did, two Bristolians who were left without their bicycle.
These – and other – robbery victims claim that the police refuse to help cyclists recovering stolen bicycles.
That’s why, started looking for the bike in their own way. Even if this is synonymous with danger – and it is.
Fiona looked for the bike in the social media and saw that it was for sale. So she pretended to be a normal shopper, took a risk and met with the seller.
When he told the police that he had this plan, the agents did not try to stop her.
But I wasn’t alone: took the fiancé and a friend.
“I asked to test the bike and left with it.”, she reports, admitting that she had felt “much safer if she had the support of the police or even if the police had offered to go”.
A police explains: to list of priorities It is established according to “operational demand” and first responds to cases with a high risk for the population.
But there are few proportionate lines of investigation and the chances of solving the robbery are low.
Josh Steven used a application location tool to find the bike – it had a locator hidden GPS for a bibiclete.
That’s how he found her inside a house. He called the police, who said that “if anyone could,” an officer would go there to handle the case.
It didn’t appear, Josh advanced alone. When he knocked on the door, a man appeared and threatened him with a make in the middle of the discussion.
But later, a relative of the man appeared and returned the bicycle to him.
A spokesman for cyclists’ association Cycling UK said they have been trying to pressure the police to change their stance and focus on bicycles sold second-hand. “We’ve been doing this for a long time.”
“If those who steal bikes realize that it is very difficult to sell them online, it will impact the choices they make,” continued Duncan Dollimore, in .
Duncan hopes that the police will do something – also so that victims stop choosing dangerous paths.
In the last 5 years, more than 365,000 bicycle theft complaints were unsuccessful. I.e, 89% of the total. And only 3% resulted in charges or subpoenas.
Cycling UK warns there is a “growing trend” of people trying to locate their bikes.
On average, 200 cases a day – more than 8 an hour – go unresolved in England and Wales.
