bike

A month-old hybrid.

Vanished.

Mary Clare writes:

My month-old bike (an orange Scott Sub 30 2012 hybrid bike)) wasstolen from outside my office in Merrion Square [Dublin] by a guy with a high viz and a black hat (to avoid the CCTV) – he’s been seen around before and this is the 3rd bike stolen from the same place. I reported it in Pearse Street and was told that there is a phenomenal amount of bikes being [stolen at the moment]…

Anyone?

Sponsored Link

33 thoughts on “Box Fresh

  1. the good helen

    do you have cctv in your office, the companies close to you? i’d go in and ask if they have and can u see cctv, get the image sent to you and post up here, also give to gardai. scum!!!!

    1. Soundings

      Maybe, but if you’re ever out at Ikea, take a look at the bike stands there. There’s enough orphaned bike locks to fill an Ikea wardrobe.

        1. Soundings

          You say that, but flat-packed and taking it slowly, it can be done (not cycling in fairness, but balancing the package between the handlebars and the saddle).

  2. MarcoPolo

    I feel for you Mary, so sorry to hear this, AGAIN.

    I still get pangs thinking of my nearly new stolen £600 racer, on O’Connell St. back in September 1993. I locked it up with a £5 chain though, so was literally inviting anyone with a scissors to take it.

    I’ve often thought of setting up some sort of sting for these thieving f**kers, which would result in some non violent lynching, like a lovely hosing down or being surrounded by big furry costumed vigilantes with a big net, like in some recent Russian video seen lately. There must be some way of catching them.

    1. Lilly

      Of course there is if only our police force considered bike owners to be citizens whose property is worth protecting.

      1. ReproBertie

        Nothing like a generic “the gardaí just don’t care” statement without bothering to look for any sort of information at all.

        “Gardaí have established a dedicated operation aimed at catching thieves behind the soaring rate of bike thefts in recent years.

        Operation Spoke has been run in Dublin’s north inner city where thefts are at runaway levels as commuters pour into the city centre every day for work; now using bikes in bigger numbers than ever.

        The operation is staged for short periods, with intense activity focusing on the areas in the Bridewell garda station district where bike thefts are most frequent and also in monitoring those believed to be the prolific robbers.

        Operation Spoke has resulted in 33 arrests resulting in 39 charges and 21 convictions.

        Gardai have said in the past that part of the problem with solving bike thefts is that unless a thief is caught in the act it is often impossible to trace a bike.

        Even in cases where bikes have been seized during searches because it is suspected they are stolen, it is almost impossible to match the bike with the owner and so very difficult to determine with certainty if the bike was indeed robbed.”

        http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/specialist-garda-operation-aims-to-catch-thieves-behind-soaring-bike-thefts/

        1. ReproBertie

          There used to be a dedicated garda bike crime unit in Dublin who met weekly to distribute the serial numbers of all bikes reported stolen. They would frequently set up check points to check the serial number of all bikes. They also used to check serial numbers of any and all bikes they came across while patrolling the city. That was back before cars were the main mode of private transport though.

          1. Max Power

            “There used to be a dedicated garda bike crime unit in Dublin ” – He is on long term sick leave…..

        2. Soundings

          Does anyone know when Operation Spoke started? It refers to 11/12 Feb as the last time it was conducted, but when did it originally start.

          39 charges presumably refer to the theft of 39 bikes, I get the impression that that many will be stolen in 24 hours.

          As for the Gardai saying the only real way they can deal with this crime is catching the thief in the act, why the hell don’t they do what people on here are clamouring for – strings to catch what appear to be organised criminals.

          1. Sinabhfuil

            Bait bikes are used elsewhere, and wherever they’re used, notices are also used “Are you sure this isn’t a bait bike?”

            Solution to the big hat to avoid CCTV is surely a webcam set down low?

      2. Max Power

        If your House is broken into or your car is stolen the Gardai are only half interested in your problem, you ring them to tell them your bike is knicked – you might as well ring Joe “MF-ing” Duffy, more chance him finding it.
        Sorry to hear your loss…….

  3. JimmytheHead

    your job should let u park your bike somewhere, most of those merrion st offices have laneways around the back. still not ideal but at least its not on the street

      1. JimmytheHead

        so sorry to hear that. theres a bike shop on dorset st that i always go to, very reasonable guys and if you tell them your story they might either know where you could look for it (they get lots of dodgy characters trying to sell bikes) or they might do you a discount on a second hand bike – thebikeinstitute.ie

  4. Soundings

    Hi Mary Clare, you must be gutted, what is it, €700 new? That’s a distinctive bike and I don’t think you’re going to see it again in Dublin city centre.

    Can you tell us all how you secured the bike? D lock or cable? More than one lock? DId you secure to railings, a pole? Was the lock left behind?

    Out of interest, do Gardai give you crime numbers in this country? I really wonder if they log all crimes on Pulse, am pretty sure from personal experience they don’t.

  5. My Daddy is bigger than Yours

    no serial number then? Not much useful info then really?

    BTW : It’s number of bikes not amount

  6. leesider

    Surely a system could be devised whereby a bike has a registration number. Bikes that have registration numbers chiseled off are confiscated. All new bikes must them. All old bikes must go and get registered. When you sell a bike, the ownership must also be transferred and then spot checks every now and again for stolen bikes. It would also serve to take unsafe bikes out of circulation. If not this then something else. Things can’t go on like this.

    Proper bike parking spots in the city like they have in Amsterdam and Copenhagen would also help.
    Sorry about your bike!

    1. Tom Stewart

      Maybe now that bikes are becoming more mainstream we could see some of this initiated. Sound like great ideas.

      The first one was my first thought too: bikes have unique frame numbers. Establish an online registry. Owner registers their bike on it. If stolen bike is found, Gardaí contact them.

  7. Miami Dolphin's Barn

    Can the Guards not set a trap for bicycle thieves and put a tracker under the seat to see where it gets taken and see if it’s part of a bigger criminal operation? or just sting the dirtbags that are offending.
    Or at least turn it into a Dog the bicycle hunter type TV show. I’d watch.

  8. Kolmo

    just stand on certain streets in the city centre and you’ll see some native ferals with high-end mountain bikes, racers and fixies and not an arse in their grey tracksuits. Is there any any truth to the story that a lot of the stolen expensive bikes are shipped by the container load to the UK?

  9. Freddie

    To those suggesting “buy a better lock”, I had my month old €1600 bike stolen 2 weeks ago when some pr1ick cut through the frame of my bike. It was lock with a Kroyptonite d-Lock and 2 Kryptonite cables. The bike was obviously useless but all the Shimano Ultegra components and wheels were worth up a grand new, so worth a few hundred at least on the black market. My point being, if they want to steal it bad enough, they will. No matter what kind of lock you have.

    1. Soundings

      Reminds you of “if the blackbox is indestructible, why don’t the make the plane of the same material”

      That’s shocking, and again, it’s not some opportunistic howiya doing that – gutwrenching.

Comments are closed.

Sponsored Link
Broadsheet.ie