Lattz

The biggest anger I felt was against myself... the bikes could have been better protected, not left behind for several hours, etc... (minus the ones which were taken from the corp's camera protected storage, but there I was "lucky", but thats a different story for maybe another thread. The one which p1ssed me off the most was not even the 70yo man, who told me "good you came on time, because I'm a bike thief", and not even the one stole the most valuable of em all the Bianchi. But the guy, who stole my street picked Peugeot, what I saved from the street from the hands of the city (it had the death row tag already, indicating once they pick it, it goes to the scrap without getting a second chance at co-op). Being 30 year old, was like new, someone cut my silly wire lock from the aforementioned "high security" area, then with a huge chain as thick as my arm, tied it 100meters away at the railway station and left it there to rot for months. That was the only occasion I was truly hoping, that someone will steal a bike.... I wanted it to be saved even if for silly quick money.

DiabloScott

U-locked around the neck to a public bike rack.

Lattz

Wow thanks, now looking at those cages, I've seen them many times in medieval castles. Didn't connect the dots, that my idea was used already, in my mind it was always a modern form of pillory. Those guys often ended up left for the people to "have fun" (I guess often undeserved)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillory

RCMoeur 

Recently I was not a victim of bike theft (knock wood), but last week on the way back from delivering 11 bikes to foster kids my usually-reliable truck broke down (the 34-year-old distributor decided to suddenly retire at 70 mph). I had it towed to the repair place, but they couldn't get to fixing it immediately because of staff shortages and the holidays. And while it was in the repair parking lot someone broke out the rear shell window, ransacked the interior, and stole my good traveling toolbox (I had to walk home from dropping it off and couldn't carry it). So my opinion of thieves at the moment is big on vengeance and light on empathy. The only bright spot is the thief was kind enough to leave their cell phone in the truck bed (next to the 5-bike Hollywood rack they fortunately didn't take), but it remains to be seen if Phoenix PD will follow up on this evidence.

jon c. 

Maybe something out of Kafka's Penal Colony, but with chainrings.

canklecat

Actually applied Texas "justice" is all over the map for property crimes (including vehicles), ranging from zero real consequences in overburdened major cities, to virtual lifetime indentured servitude in rural counties.

Several years ago, when my paid-for but otherwise excellent older car was stolen and damaged by teens who escaped from a juvenile detention center, the parents were ordered to pay restitution. I never got a dime. At the time I was more sympathetic and figured the kids were already punishment enough for the parents. Now I'm more inclined to think the parents raised their kids to be that way and I'd pursue restitution more assertively. Even among my own scattered family of distant relatives and country cousins I've seen a rapid decline in civility, with kids going almost feral in only two or three generations.

But on the flip side of Texas "justice" I've seen rural county law enforcement and courts persecute and hound people mercilessly for minor offenses that should have been treated as misdemeanors or even administrative issues with warnings but no fines or long-term consequences. Instead, people who are out of work but trying to get jobs have been arrested for expired drivers licenses, registration, inspection and/or insurance, with heavy fines they couldn't pay by deadline. When they failed to pay or missed court dates, additional fines were piled on with arrests and convictions for ever-escalating charges. It puts people so deep into a hole their best option is to flee the state, change their names and start over again. But often they can't afford to, or can't separate themselves from family. So they wind up in a downward spiral of debtor prison over the kind of thing we used to just get tickets for with small fines back in the 1970s-'80s.

The latter has become such a disease of Texas rural counties that I won't even travel through some counties to visit family or any reason. I don't want to get caught up in their drama or legal consequences. It's already bad enough that some small cities in my urban county have arbitrary "revenue-enhancement" enforcement that's mostly designed to harass cyclists completely out of their city limits.

Usually it's due to complaints from hysterical neighbors who think every passing cyclist or jogger is either a scofflaw at best, or scouting the neighborhood for burglary targets. That's literally the kind of hysterical nonsense posted on social media comments below FB posts from area police departments. I was actually warned online by some people to not go jogging in their neighborhoods because they didn't take kindly to "joggers" -- using the term as a racist euphemism, in reference to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. But that's what happens when citizens perceive that law enforcement have abandoned them, and the state government is giving tacit approval to vigilantism.

Applied justice needs to be somewhere between the two extremes. Ignoring victims of property crimes and telling them "Tough luck, get better insurance or save money to replace stolen property" only annoys taxpayers to the point they'll demand inhumane punishment. But applying unnecessarily harsh and arbitrary punishment without realistic hope of remediation is no solution either.

jon c. 

I suspect it's much likely that people don't call police in large cities because the police don't care.

OTOH, that is in red so it must be significant.

gearbasher

If they are forced to wear Lycra in prison, like I suggested earlier, there'd be no shortage of penetrators.

Retoocs

Punishment for any thieves should be they get assigned to porta-potty companies to empty and clean the porta potties after a major event where they are literally filled to the brim.

Steel Charlie

I have thought for some time that the pet food industry could benefit from the protein source available in the convicted felon pool

DiabloScott

I had a bike stolen once - a cop later busted the thief for something else, ran the serial number on his bike and found my report. I had insurance that covered the loss and the insurance company took the bike, so the probation officer ordered restitution of my deductible - $250 I think. I got about half of that maybe and then nothing. Although I did get a better bike with the insurance money.

iab

Soylent Green is people.

Steel Charlie

Coming soon to a country near you. The simplest solution of all for the population problems that covid didn't have the oomph to effect. ​​​​​

stardognine

I just now watched this, and it's nearly perfect. 😁 The wannabe thieves get some free "publicity", which is almost as good as restitution. Or maybe better, if someone local recognizes them. 😉

prairiepedaler

Hmmmm. In the distant past, a hole would be bored in the thieves' earlobes. Stealing once got one lobe puntured and twice meant the other lobe. Nowadays, a big chunk of the population mutilates themselves (far worse) voluntarily. But, back then no. If the thief could return what he stole, he would pay the owner double the value of what was stolen on top of it. If he couldn't return the stolen item, he'd have to pay 5 times. In either case, the criminal paid the victim, not the victim pays the system for the thieves food and lodging. The 3rd time stealing I think it was hanging or stoning, can't recall which.

For the joyriding thief who isn't a crack head careerist, more leniency is warranted. If the chronic methhead perpetual bike thief is stealing your bike do whatever you can do to him and yet still get away with. If he pulls a knife then no holds barred.

bluemule 

Mandatory stint washing parts, cleaning the restrooms, loading scrap bins at local bike coop.

Bad Lag

Clearly, without a doubt, incontrovertibly, this kind of entrapment into a life of crime is caused by improper storage by the owners. The owners should be arrested, prosecuted and punished.