We need to stop blaming victims in bike theft!

[Gordon71]

well that would depend on how fast you are it would be pretty emberassing of some old lady ran up and stole the bike from you will putting along.

I may be slow but not that slow!

 

[PedalUma]

There are proactive things we can do individually and collectively to prevent bike theft. If a stolen bike cannot be resold then the incentive is gone and the risk too high for theft. One way is to only buy a used bike from someone with documentation. Demand it. Another could be to make your bike like no other so that it is highly identifiable. I won't touch any bike that has been repainted, that is a big red flag. Some people use things such as air tags. Others enter a passcode into their display. For electric bikes the first thing a thief looks for is a charger. That is also a red flag. They will sometime be a 'new member' on EBR and post that they just purchased a bike at a yard sale and need help getting a charger. Ask for a photo of the bike's serial number so that you can help them get the correct charger. They will then abandon the post and EBR.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

Let me be frank I know you're not being an ass here you are doing exactly what you said calling a spade a spade. People can be a bit hypocritical even myself and we get stuck in our opinions. I'm just hoping this is one thing I can help change this outlook because I really feel people don't understand this comment is victim blaming/shaming. I never knew it was till it happened to me. I'm sure I'm being a hypocrite somewhere in here and I apologies for that.

With that said I will agree to disagree with your view point for a few things, it IS victim shaming/blaming, you can call it a spade but we live in a world where we have lost sympathy for people it seams and we just shame people thinking exactly what you just mentioned above, why not call a spade a spade. Well tell me if you have a partner/family member someone you care about their feeling and you are mad at them and you call a spade a spade. Tell me how well that process works? Tell them exactly how you feel and don't hold back. Calling a spade a spade is not okay for healthy communication but for some reason we feel it's okay to do it to a stranger?

I would agree If we are having a conversation about why things happen or how to fix a problem or shoudl I do this or should I do that. yeah it's great to bring really valid points like a bike lock up. Like repeat it 100x to them because it is so important. Even with my example above about sexual assault victims, I'm not stupid, I know it's not a great idea to dress proactively in a bad neighborhood. We are not dumb here we know what could/will happen. We would all love to live in a society where this is not a problem, but we don't ,we live in reality. BUT if stuff does happen why are we so quick to blame the victim unless they had a good reason to do what they were doing? Oh your car broke down and you had no choice, so you didn't do it on purpose okay well now that's okay yeah you are a victim and I'll give you sympathy. Oh you are a street worker and got sexually assaulted in a bad neighborhood well then you had it coming. So the two victims are somehow different now because a spade is a spade? Why does a victim have to explain why they are a victim to get sympathy or to not have judgement passed on them? It's really confusing to me, to me they are a victim period no matter the story! Again it would be different if a victim asked how they could prevent this in the future, sure that's the time and place for it. So just realize that I now feel like I a HAVE to rationalize why I was a victim so that YOU can can feel better or justified in giving me you sympathy, therefor agreeing that yes I are a victim. Having sympathy does not mean you agree with anything it just means you have sympathy BTW it does not mean you agree that it is okay or not okay to use a bike lock. But for some reason I feel like once people hear the full story they change how they think and are not so judgmental or have sympathy.

So here goes, I ride because I have had 3 collapsed lungs and a stroke so it is hard to find an activity that I like and give me exercise but not too much as I don't like pushing it too much (hence the ebike). I do have a $220 Arbus folding lock for my bike but I use my bike for real mountain biking on real trails and this lock would be what they call "put into a yard sale" in about 10 seconds if I left it on the bike. Its a $220 lock so I don't want to lose it when I ride trails. I also care about our environment and decided to commute to work and get rid of one car also it helped sell the fact of the price tag to my partner for an ebike. I don't always remember to put the lock back on my bike when I commute after i have been out trail ridding. The morning of my partner and I got into a huge fight about something stupid and I needed a breather and I was not thinking straight because I care about my partner and it sucks when you get into fights with the person you love. I was out and had no lock because I was not thinking about lunch when I left, stopped in at a Burger King for 3 minutes.. gone. So now with all this info does this make me seem more of a victim and less dumb for doing what I did.. Or hear me out, people could just accept I am no matter what I did or didn't do to prevent it!

I hope this never happens to anyone else, my heart sank as I watched this POS ride away and look back at me. Then as I ran after them I tripped and fell down on the boulevard hurting myself pretty bad. What a crappy day, then I get "Did you have a lock on it" thanks for calling a spade a spade! There is a time and a place for this discussion so that yes you can call a spade a spade at that time.

With respect, this is all too much to take in and address, point by point. The emotions raised by losing your ride are understandable, but no one here is reveling in your loss nor are they trying to play "high and mighty". People on this particular forum don't roll that way. If ever anything was learned about the theft of your bike, it's that while you might not be paying much mind to things around and about you; rest assured somebody with bad intents is watching you. You must go about your ebiking routines with that facet of situational awareness always in the back of your mind.

 

[Rider777]

So I just had my beautiful e-bike stolen..

Just one obvious question;

Why did you decide to “have it stolen”??

Next time don’t choose that option…..duh.

 

[dodgeman]

Some people use humor on this forum, don’t take it personal. I admit I laughed when the first response was in smaller text like it was a whisper. It sucks it was stolen. You shouldn’t have to lock it up but I do mine. I’m worried the entire time even if it’s just a few minutes.

I can’t remember where I saw it but the police use a car and leave the keys in it. They have cameras and can kill the car when the thief drives off. It’s sort of entrapment but they are still stealing. I always remember the guy, he steals the cars, the police kill it, bust him, the first words out of his mouth are “it wasn’t me”. Maybe they can do that with and e bike.

 

[PedalUma]

Yesterday it was announced that the Feds took down a huge catalytic converter ring. They were making huge profits at the expense of everyone else. The reason I say everyone is because things like insurance rates hit us all. They traced it from many angles.

DOJ announces takedown of nationwide multi-million dollar catalytic converter theft ring

The bust stretches across the country with more than $500 million in fraudulent sales, arrests, searches and seizures in California and also in Oklahoma, Wyoming, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia.

abc7news.com

 

[Gionnirocket]

Yesterday it was announced that the Feds took down a huge catalytic converter ring. They were making huge profits at the expense of everyone else. The reason I say everyone is because things like insurance rates hit us all. They traced it from many angles.

DOJ announces takedown of nationwide multi-million dollar catalytic converter theft ring

The bust stretches across the country with more than $500 million in fraudulent sales, arrests, searches and seizures in California and also in Oklahoma, Wyoming, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia.

abc7news.com

Did the victims of the ring have their catalytic converters locked?

 

[Dave Rocks]

a Cat

Did the victims of the ring have their catalytic converters locked?

Catalytic Cafe lock

 

[Gordon71]

Did the victims of the ring have their catalytic converters locked?

Yes, unless they're in a box at the auto supply store.

 

[McCorby]

I was so sad when I saw the guy grab it then spin it around and bike away while I chased them down the street But for some reason people want to ask "was it locked up?" WTF does it matter if it was locked up? I just lost my bike. Why is it so easy to just blame the victim. That's like asking a sexual assault victim "were you dressed provocatively" you should know better...

Someone asking you if it was locked up is victim blaming…..? Just wow!

Maybe the person was curious about what type/brand of lock was defeated and how……

……and yes, I did ask that question in your other thread for that very reason….Sorry I victim blamed you……..

……and to compare/relate this to a sexual assault victim is just sad.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I just read a report of this guy stealing the CC's from a place that buys them. so maybe he was just getting back what he sold after he stole it??

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

Did the victims of the ring have their catalytic converters locked?

Funny you should mention that......cat converter locks are pretty big business these days!

https://www.napaonline.com/accessories/catclamp-catalytic-converter-lock

 

[MrCaspan]

Someone asking you if it was locked up is victim blaming…..? Just wow!

Maybe the person was curious about what type/brand of lock was defeated and how……

……and yes, I did ask that question in your other thread for that very reason….Sorry I victim blamed you……..

……and to compare/relate this to a sexual assault victim is just sad.

It's about drawing a parallel because people don't get it and they think it's fine.

 

[Johnny]

I can imagine how frustrated you are since it was your way of transportation and you actually chased those scum. I even had nightmares where something similar was happening to me.

Thieves are the ones to blame and they should be prosecuted accordingly.

That being said, you are taking the "fault" concept a bit too personal at this point. Unfortunately until we can live in a society where theft is no longer a problem we need to take some precautions and one is locking the bike.

Even locking it with the best lock available may not be enough since power tools are cheap and available. I used to bring my bike inside at the expense of my colleagues giving me the look. Unfortunately it was simply not safe to leave it outside even with a kryptonite lock.

This is one of the problems which prevents ebikes becoming more popular for everyday transportation the other being infrastructure/safety while riding.

Still a stolen property is better than harm coming to your health.

 

[McCorby]

It's about drawing a parallel because people don't get it and they think it's fine.

Again, being asked if it was locked is NOT victim blaming.

For learning purposes only, here’s an example of victim blaming:
Maybe if you would have bought a more reasonable class 1 bike instead of that overpowered monstrosity, you could have chased the perp down!

lol

 

[MrCaspan]

Again, being asked if it was locked is NOT victim blaming.

For learning purposes only, here’s an example of victim blaming:
Maybe if you would have bought a more reasonable class 1 bike instead of that overpowered monstrosity, you could have chased the perp down!

lol

No they would attract attention then. obviously you don't understand what victim blaming means. maybe you should look it up. I even posted a definition of it earlier. you can disagree with me but it is victim blaming/shaming. and because everyone thinks exactly as you're saying. oh it's just a question. oh I'm just trying to figure things out. that's why I tried to draw the parallel because if you did the exact same thing to another victim, for example a sexual assault victim and ask them what they were wearing for research purposes.. it's the same thing same thing and if you don't get that you just don't get that. If it's not okay to ask them, why do you think it would be okay to ask me because it's just a bike? because I'm not really a victim..

 

[Taylor57]

I can imagine how frustrated you are since it was your way of transportation and you actually chased those scum. I even had nightmares where something similar was happening to me.

Thieves are the ones to blame and they should be prosecuted accordingly.

That being said, you are taking the "fault" concept a bit too personal at this point. Unfortunately until we can live in a society where theft is no longer a problem we need to take some precautions and one is locking the bike.

Even locking it with the best lock available may not be enough since power tools are cheap and available. I used to bring my bike inside at the expense of my colleagues giving me the look. Unfortunately it was simply not safe to leave it outside even with a kryptonite lock.

This is one of the problems which prevents ebikes becoming more popular for everyday transportation the other being infrastructure/safety while riding.

Still a stolen property is better than harm coming to your health.

Totally agree. I would love to use it more doing my daily activities, but it comes down to other than a couple of restaurants and taverns, anywhere else I would go would require locking outside. So it's fun to have to go on rides with my kids or guests, but that's been the extent of my ebiking. Maybe I should just buy a 350 dollar ebike and use it as a beater. I could keep in unlocked and we could do an over under here on the board on how long it would last!!

 

[MrCaspan]

and you can disagree with me all you want but just know even though you don't think it. if you ask that to other people they will feel shame they will feel blamed for what they did. do with that information what you please. This is not a snowflake thing. This is not a left wing or a right wing thing. it's just common sense. If you don't care then keep doing it. but don't be surprised to somebody gets grumpy or angry with you.

 

[m@Robertson]

The biggest problem I have is that I want to use the bike also for mountain biking in the trails. it's almost like I'm going to have to have two bikes. one for commuting, one for the trails. I don't want big locks strapped to the bike when ridding but then I forget to put it back on when I'm communing.

For the next time around... you can add a disk brake lock that will stop anyone from riding off. They can toss the bike into the back of a truck or try carrying it off with a friend, but the little things fit in your pocket and go on/come off in a flash. I use this when, for instance, I am standing in line at the bakery and the bike is literally standing in the street parking 5 feet behind me. Should give me just enough time to ... enact countermeasures. Fits in a panmts pocket or a handlebar bag.

I like the Kryptonite version with the reminder cable that goes on your handgrip. They call it the Keeper.

https://amzn.to/3WJd7Y3

 

[MrCaspan]

on top of that people saying oh you're overreacting I'm acting exactly how I'm feeling. it's not wrong. You may act completely different in this situation. You may be perfectly fine with people asking these questions. I'm not. I'm a victim and by asking questions like that it blames me for my bike getting stolen. You guys don't need to know what type of lock I had on my bike because it doesn't matter. we all know it doesn't matter what lock you have. It will get stolen anyways so it's a moot question. There is no better lock worse lock. if someone wants your bike they're taking it.