Stolen bikes

Give them a courtesy call and bring your mates.

Honest opinion, they care fuck all!

Popo obviously, not your mates! ;)

Theres a good sticky on this forum about it, but essentially just go and buy it, act interested but not too interested, inform police, take backup, don't take risks, some folk are proper scum bags.

Unfortunately the seller is the person who mugged me for it, so meeting isn't really an option. Police were apologetic but seems there's little they're able to do.

That's disappointing and shameful - taking a bike and taking a bike by force are quite different and they should be all over it. Chances the thief isn't, anyway, already known to the police? I'd kick up a fuss on Twitter - though also be mindful of exposing yourself to revenge since you use your real name on there.

Very much not official guidance here but how about arranging a meet, or get a friend to, turn up but stay a decent distance and out of sight, phone the busies and describe your thief, say he's waving a knife about, wait for them to show, swoop in and retrieve your bike

If you have a friend willing, get them to turn up and ride off on it. Obviously, it's not always that easy and negotiating to be able to give it a test ride can be a task in itself. If you can assemble a group that are nearby then that would be preferable.

Did you manage to get it back by any chance?
Shame I didn't see this otherwise I would've offered to help get it back

Unfortunately the seller is the person who mugged me for it

That's fucking scandalous. You can positively ID someone who mugged you and the police are "apologetic"?!

I appreciate offers of help but I don’t want to put anyone at risk. I’d arranged a meet tonight but when I called police they had nobody available. I’ll try again another day but it’s not looking great.

Tweet your MP (can also try the PM but best not), even if you have to create a new Twitter account. Tell them you were mugged, that you’ve pinpointed the mugger’s whereabouts and the police refuse to help you recover your property and arrest a criminal.

It's possible Boris is busy right now, though he'd probably appreciate an easy hero distraction.

🙃 have edited

I don't like the police but they only way you will get them to action is to exaggerate the situation. As mentioned above by other people tell the police you confronted the person and the prick brandished a knife or something.

Yesterday at around 4pm there were multiple police cars, and a helicopter in the sky, at the eastway in Leyton. I asked one of the at least 10 officers standing around what they were doing, and he replied that they were looking for someone who had crashed a stolen car after a chase. But steal a bike and they'll do fuck all.

There's definitely a strange disconnect between the two. Copper I reported the theft to seemed surprised at the value of my bike. It's nothing fancy, but I suppose that rebuilding it all would cost £1500 or £2000. But it looks like an old vicar's town bike. Plenty of cars on my street are worth less than that.

A colleague saw 2 cunts steal a bike on the corner of Tabernacle and Paul St in Shoreditch. They used an angle grinder.

If this was yours, drop me a line.

Tabernacle Square? (The small square between the two streets you mention and Great Eastern Street, just on the big junction.)

Aye that’s it, by an obelisk/deliveroo dude base camp.

Ta. Strictly speaking, it's a drinking fountain, but of course like most of them it doesn't work any more. I think it was moved there when Tabernacle Square was created in 2002, but I can't quite remember where it used to be.

It's really a high-visibility location, but these people are probably confident that they're quick enough.

Ah, of course, it was on the central spur between Old Street and Great Eastern Street:

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2019/01/16/have-you-seen-the-tall-victorian-drinking-fountain-at-old-street-junction/

How quickly you forget.

I think my bike is sold now, but two weeks after I first told police that it was for sale and gave them the post code, profile page and name of the seller, I finally had an appointment for them to accompany me on a fake sale and intervene tonight. Sadly they didn't turn up, or even call to say that they couldn't make it. Unless they did it without me and there's been some good result I've just been left dangling.

.

I don't agree with that at all. I think they're understaffed to the point that they can't investigate any but the most serious crimes. And that's the fault of politicians.

And that's the fault of politicians.

Thats also not the full picture but I get you. My point is some bike theft is investigated and delt with. Some is not. And its not clear to me anyway, what those parameters are exactly.

Sadly they didn't turn up... been left dangling.

Sounds about right tbh.