Police in White Plains, New York, found an easy way to arrest bike thieves — Set out an unlocked $500 bicycle at a city intersection and just stand back and wait.
And the police didn't have to wait long, as they arrested three suspects in an hour. Maybe a sting like this could work in other cities where cops don't have time to investigate bicycle thefts; they could just stand there and watch them happen.
Ten minutes after setting up the sting, a 23-year-old came along, walked off with the bike, and passed it off to an 18-year-old.
Second theft
About 40 minutes after those two were arrested, a 35-year-old was arrested as he grabbed the bike and started to ride away.
The Journal News reports that all three were arrested on fifth degree possession of stolen property, a misdemeanor.
This type of enforcement has been tried elsewhere.
Other stings
In Bradenton, Florida, police set out a bicycle in a crime-ridden part of town, arresting and charging three men. The HeraldTribune reported that critics said the operation was a waste of time and taxpayer money that unfairly targeted the homeless.
Police chief Michael Radzilowsky retorted: “The message is clear: If you steal a bike, you may get locked up.”
A couple of years ago, campus police at UC-Berkeley actually used a “cheesy lock” to secure a bicycle. The lock was cut by a 57-year-old man who took off on the bike before he was finally pulled down by a police officer. The student newspaper reported that the guy hit his head on the sidewalk and lost conciousness.
And as a warning to potential bike thieves in Chicago: the city's Bike 2015 Plan calls for reducing bike theft by staging a bicycle sting by 2008. The plan calls for, among other things, equipping a bike with a global positioning device to track it to professional bike thieves.
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