Stolen Bristol Bikes - the fourth emergency service?

Getting your bike nicked is a truly gutting feeling. Stolen Bristol Bikes, now in its third year of existence, has created a destination for people to list and describe their missing cycles. The service helps the community identify and retrieve bikes and also offers  great advice on bike security. Mud Dock caught up with site founder Antony to get the low-down.

Your site 'does what it says on the tin'. What prompted you to set it up in the first place?

"My ratty old single speed mountain bike got stolen, together with my friend’s bike. They were both insured, but dealing with the claim turned out to be a really slow and frustrating process. I’d heard encouraging stories of people pounding the streets giving out flyers to bike shops, and realised that an online version of this could be just as effective. The police managed to recover my bike after I spotted it on eBay and “purchased” it."

Any other people involved in the project?

"I maintain the blog.  The domain name is paid for by my mate Taylor in return for advertising his locksmiths business (A bit mercenary if you ask me). The other big involvement comes from Bristol’s cycling community: reporting their stolen bikes, checking to see what’s happening and calling out anything unusual or suspicious."

The site has approaching 400 posts, the majority of which are reports of stolen bikes,  stretching back to 2009. How is it so popular?

"It has good word of mouth, I’ve made sure it has a regular (if slightly impersonal) presence on Facebook and Twitter, and I think the police are now routinely telling people who have a bike stolen to report it to me."

Looking at the last week's posts I counted 8 new listings of stolen bikes, plus frames and other bits and bobs. It seems incredible that so many bikes go in such a short time.

"There are often little bursts of bike crime, then it goes quiet for a while. It’s a reflection of the fact that not everyone reports their bike as stolen, not everyone reports thefts to me straight away, and that bike theft isn’t a steady 9 to 5 job!"

http://www.stolenbristolbikes.com/

Is it possible that an organised firm is at work targeting the higher-end bikes? How would they move those bikes once stolen?

"There are definitely some very organised thieves out there, carrying out targeted thefts.

"There’s a lot of speculation about how the bikes are sold, but in reality there are very few controls on the second hand bike market. A lot of shops will refuse to buy something obviously dodgy, and some websites like Going Going Bike have anti-theft measures, but there are so many other platforms that thieves can use. If I was a bike thief I wouldn’t bother taking bikes to London or Eastern Europe. I’d just sell the less traceable parts online, using appropriately vague descriptions, and a spell checker."

Do you have any liaison with Avon and Somerset Constabulary to maximise recovery chances?

"There are some very clued-up officers who will go the extra mile to track down a stolen bike, if they have enough information. The police also routinely send me pictures of recovered bikes in the hope that they can be reunited with their owner."

A bike was retrieved within the last couple of weeks, which must be a great feeling for you and the owner. What sort of success rate do owners get in terms of being reunited with their loved one.

"It’s still very low overall, but it does depend. For example, if someone with a completely generic Halfords bike has it nicked, and has no current picture of it, no note of the size or model, and no record of the serial number, they’re not likely to see it again. On the other hand, there was one guy who immediately started doing the rounds of local shops with some paper flyers, and his bike was found within 24 hours."

What are the most memorable posts that have been on the site? Any good stories to tell?

"One lady bought her bike as a reward for giving up smoking after 25 years, only to have it stolen after one short ride. The police were able to recover it very soon afterwards, so hopefully she’s still off the tabs.

Please spread the word about how Stolen Bristol Bikes is fighting back against the thieves.

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Next time round Stolen Bristol Bikes offers Top Five Tips for Securing Your Bike