Petty Theft is a Major Issue in 2018
Yet not much can be done about it
We looked into it, but unfortunately we cannot do anything about that
- The Police
This week, a video made by a former NASA engineer was trending on YouTube. Amassing an impressive 50 million views at time of writing, the story was picked by BBC and many other news agencies, as it is usually the case with viral videos.
If you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, here it is for your convenience.
The video, besides being entertaining and really well made, raises an important point. What do you do when the police of your area does not have the resources to chase every case of petty theft? Do you try to get revenge on the thieves or do you just let it go?
Some people regard Mark Rober as a hero. He is inspiring others to take a stance against wrongdoings. Others, quite the opposite, criticize him for enticing a behavior in his audience that might have very dangerous consequences. Think about it this way: people stealing from your porch know exactly who you are and where you live. They also proved not only complete lack of remorse for doing something illegal, but also willingness to go out of their way to harm you. Would you risk messing with them?
Have you heard of the insane Bike Theft situation in the UK?
This leads me to the next point: bike theft. Most of my friends who cycle in London have had one bike stolen within the past 5 years. Some of them lost up to 3 bikes due to theft!
I will write a separate post with just these stories because some of them are just amazing, but for now, let’s look into the aftermath of a bike theft. None of the below is made up, and the piece bellow is a collage of experiences that people whom I personally know had.
How does the conversation with the police usually go?
So your bike was stolen and you call the police. They ask you questions about the type, shape, color of your bike and take note of it. They may then check CCTV recordings. Some recordings are good and you can clearly see the thief’s face. Others are good, but the face is never visible. Lastly, there are some cameras which are so rubbish that you wonder why did they bother installing them to begin with?
In any case, that does not matter. The police will tell you they will try to look into it but they also verbalize that there is almost no chance you will ever see your bike again.
Say you play the detective and find your bike listed on eBay or craigslist for sale, you message the thief, pretend you are a prospective buyer and arrange for a rendez-vous. You call the police to assist you with the pickup, but they refuse. You go to a private security company who quote an insane price because the job it is a “high risk” task, which is true. Given how much they charge, you’re better off just buying back your bike from the thief.
How does it look like on the criminal side?
Why nothing can be done?
- Resources. First and foremost, there is just not enough police force to chase all the petty theft. For instance there are 4000 bike thefts reported in Cambridge, UK, in 2018 alone. Cambridge is not even that big, yet 4000 people lost their bike this year. How can the police help you when they are trying to deal with 4000 other cases?
- Economy. It would not be far fetched to estimate that the cost for the police to recover your bike is the same as the cost of a private firm to do it. As we saw, the cost of chasing petty theft far exceeds the value of the goods.
- Law. Even with a well-funded police force, motivated to stop bike theft no matter the cost, once the thieves are caught, if the value of the bike is below 500 GBP, it is considered petty theft, as opposed to grand theft. The difference is important. Petty theft is considered a misdemeanor rather than a felony. To put that into perspective, another instance of misdemeanor is jaywalking. Not only it does not go on your criminal record, but most times the resolution is just a warning or a fine.
Would Facial Recognition work?
China has enabled facial recognition technology on their streets. This poses a major privacy issue, but the advocates for this technology see it as a means to combat criminality. The question then becomes: if we agree with facial recognition on the street and give up part of our right to privacy, would one of the benefits be a reduced rate of petty theft?
I think the answer is no. Currently we have CCTV cameras that clearly show the identity of the thief and yet nothing is done. My friend not only found the thief, but also arranged for a meeting with him, claiming she wants to buy the bike, yet the police did not want to get involved.
Tracking citizens on the street will definitely not fix the petty theft issue.
Then what can be done?
- Change the law. Increase the penalty for petty theft, such that cases are worth pursuing, particularly those cases where the face of the thief is clearly visible.
- Encourage the police to pursue at least some of these cases even though they lose money. Each bike recovered will deter hundreds of other bike thefts.
In the mean time, my sad recommendation is to buy the cheapest bike you can find, purposefully scratch it so it looks even uglier and consider it disposable. Don’t even bother locking it.
Hey there, Andrei here. If you enjoyed the article and want to make sure you know about my next one, you can sign up with your email address below. I only send blog-related updates and have a zero-spam policy.
Gain control over your news, do not let the corporation algorithms decide for you!
Thank you Agnieszka for your inspiring story that made me write this article. I will try to write an entire separate article about your experiences, I think it is something a lot more people should know.
