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Bike thieves slice through cycle racks with saw to lift off couple's bikes

Bikes stolen outside couple's home after neighbour saw men with saw - but police never responded to call...

A couple who believed they were doing their best for cycle security by fixing their bikes with Kryptonite locks were shocked to find that Manchester bike thieves had simply sliced through the bike racks instead.

Ana Suarez and Tim Volker, both 26, parked up outside their flat ,in the Urban Splash 3Towers development off Rochdale Road, only to to find the following day that the toast rack style bike stands hacked through and bent so that the cycles could be removed.

A neighbour who rang police to say he had seen two men with a saw near the bike racks, which were in a fenced off area, on Tuesday evening around 9pm said officers never arrived to investigate.

Ana told the Manchester Evening News: “Our flat is quite small and the bike racks outside are fenced off and covered by CCTV so we thought it would be OK to leave them there.

“We really didn’t want them to be stolen so we bought Kryptonite locks.

“I guess the thieves thought it would be easier to cut through the whole bike rack.

“When I saw it I was just surprised and really angry.

“Someone in our building told us they saw two men next to the bike racks with a saw but went inside when they came towards them with it.

“They phoned the police straight away but they never came and we are still waiting for them.”

Tim, a java developer, said: “It’s just a feeling of anger and impotence at the situation.

“We are still waiting for the police and feel like it’s a lost cause getting the bikes back.”

If you see either of the bikes, a Specialized Ariel ladies hybrid in dark blue-purple, or a New Trail Rider from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative in Black, call 101 to speak to police.

Last year Greater Manchester Police issued a warning that cycle thieves are using information garnered from social networking sites to target high-value bicycles following a string of thefts from garden sheds and outbuildings.

GMP  warned cyclists that thieves are going online to scan forums and social media sites such as Facebook to work out where cyclists live and target expensive bikes they can then steal.

Inspector Pete Smith commented: "Three members of the same club falling victim at the same time is too much of a coincidence and makes us wonder if thieves are getting details from websites or chat rooms.

"A combination of posting photos, putting on personal details and descriptions of routes cycled mean thieves can work out addresses where there is likely to be a bike of decent quality.

"We are advising people to be careful about what details they give out on club sites, forums and on Facebook."

road.cc’s online security tips

We’re all for online communities here at road.cc – after all, we are one and the interaction between our own users is one of the things that makes the site what it is – but as the story above shows, there may be people watching who have intentions that go beyond taking exception with your opinion of helmets or Rapha and who’ll give you more than the odd flame to worry about. Here’s some pointers to keeping safe online, with an emphasis on bike security.
 

If you mainly post online under a pseudonym and never mention your real name in connection with that, you’re already a step ahead. If not, there are a few things you can do to make yourself more secure, both when it comes to your bike and generally.
 

• Since Facebook accounts tend to be under users’ real names, it’s not difficult for thieves to link that and other information to publicly available address information, so you may want to review your privacy settings to have control over who can see your profile (yes, we know Facebook keeps changing them, but try and keep on top).
 

• Be very careful about posting images online. We all like to post pictures of our new toys online, but a bit of common sense is needed. A photo of your brand new bike with your house clearly identifiable behind it could attract unwanted attention. You may wish to disable GPS information used by some photo sharing sites.
 

• The same goes for information you share on sites that track your rides and make the information public. Strava has a feature that enables you to hide the start and finish point of your ride, particularly useful if that happens to be your home. Use it.
 

• Don’t go into detail online about the specific type of security you have, whether in relation to your bike or your home generally; you’re giving the thieves a chance to prepare by making sure they have the right tools for the job. Likewise talking online about going away for a while, on holiday perhaps, can flag up an unoccupied house to the thieves .

• Even if you don’t post on social media under your real name, be wary about how much information you make public. The less you reveal, the less others know about who you are and where you live. Keep it vague – town or district, fine, the street you live on, think twice.
 

• It's not just Facebook and Twitter, either that you need to be careful about - as the story above shows, even club websites can be trawled by the crooks for information. Site admins may want to consider a private area of the site where members can chat.
 

• This isn’t specifically online-related, but we know that cyclists are sometimes followed home, the thieves returning later once they know where you live. If, close to your house, there’s somewhere you can go on your bike that someone watching you in a car can’t, go there. Try and vary your route if you can. Or ride a little way past your house then loop back.

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13 comments

Avatar
brooksby | 9 years ago
0 likes

I presume that these 'toast rack' stands are cheap? They have them outside my local Tesco, and I've complained several times where the bolts holding them down have been undone and taken away - you can basically pick the rack up.

Tesco don't ever seem in a great hurry to fix them, and god forbid that they follow my suggestion which was to concrete in "proper" Sheffield-type stands...

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Airzound | 9 years ago
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I would have dialled 999 and said if you don't get here ASAP then there are going to be two dead people as some one has got a gun ………..

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martib | 9 years ago
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The Police were too busy elsewhere telling cyclists to wear Hi-Viz & Helmets, using speed camera's on them to, pick them up on fictitious speeding offences and issuing tickets to cyclists who move out of a poorly designed cycle path  17

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Flying Scot | 9 years ago
0 likes

It is a sad fact that the racks are less resilient than the locks.

I always laugh at Center Parcs, where they reccomend high security locks for valuable bikes, yet their racks are secured by 2 exposed hex nuts.

Avatar
hsiaolc replied to Flying Scot | 9 years ago
0 likes

Use your own judgment then.

In Centre Parcs if you bring your own very expensive bikes then you make sure you bring it inside put it in the storage room and lock the doors.

Sorry to hear anyone's bike gets stolen. I know how they feel and I wish the police are more proactive and once caught give them harsher punishment.

Avatar
Flying Scot replied to hsiaolc | 9 years ago
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hsiaolc wrote:

Use your own judgment then.

In Centre Parcs if you bring your own very expensive bikes then you make sure you bring it inside put it in the storage room and lock the doors.

Sorry to hear anyone's bike gets stolen. I know how they feel and I wish the police are more proactive and once caught give them harsher punishment.

My point exactly.

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Some Fella | 9 years ago
0 likes

Welcome to Manchester.
Ive got a feeling that Ana and Tim perhaps didnt grow up in Collyhurst and therefore should have known better than to leave their bikes outside - locked or not.
Bless em.

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bikebot | 9 years ago
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Well, I did once find some bike thieves in the act, and got a Police car within two or three minutes. Once the perps legged it, they were reinforced with three further Police cars, a dog unit, a Met helicopter and finally the borough Chief Superintendent. On that occasion, I would rate the response as above average  4

And then the CPS decided not to charge them.  102

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rogie40 | 9 years ago
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Fear ye not, several years back a guy in Exeter had his bike stolen and subsequently the police scrambled the force helicopter in an attempt to catch the crook with an APB issued to keep an eye out for it.
Therefore,you may conclude that there are times that the police will respond to cycle theft when resources are available .
The owner of the stolen bike was said to be very grateful for the effort put into trying to capture the thief.
The owners' name is Ben Bradshaw, who just happens to be the labour party's member of parliament for Exeter. Hmmmmmm.
Uh oh,someone at the door,better dash.....er, hello officer.

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KiwiMike | 9 years ago
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This has got SFA-to-do with online security.

This is 100% about the police failing to respond to a crime in progress, no doubt because it was 'just some bikes'.

Had the owners confronted the thieves, it could have easily escalated into assault or worse.

Clearly criminals in Manchester have twigged the police couldn't care less. Expect a lot more of this sort of thing.

Personally if it were my bikes/house, I'd call the police and say the criminals looked drunk and were brandishing what looked like a firearm. So hard to tell in the dark...

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sswindells replied to KiwiMike | 9 years ago
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Tough one to explain to public.

The Police 100% should have responded to the call of thieves on/sus circs. But, the problem lies with they also 100% need to respond to the robbery, the domestic violence assault, the child sex exploitation, the missing child, the pub fight, all of which at 9pm are likely to be happening at the same time. Sadly, the incidents where people are being injured or likely to be injured will ALWAYS take precedence ( the Police primary function is to protect life and limb first after all and if you were being beaten up you'd rather they came to help you than someone whose bike was being pinched I'm sure ).
The problem as you can see, lots of jobs, not enough officers. That's not a police issue, lobby the government to increase funding for more officers as this number is going down yearly.

The other issue you bring up is calling to say they have guns. All that will do is delay your visit. Because then it has to be risk assessed and appropriate armed officers sent who could be a distance away. This has ALWAYS been the case, and always will be. ( for info I knew Fiona bone so I wouldn't want another officer to be brutally murdered by an armed loony like her and Nicola were.)

The police response here is poor, but it's probably the best that they could offer with a stretched budget, a barely translucent blue line, and umpteen other important calls to attend to.

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KiwiMike replied to sswindells | 9 years ago
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Sswindells wrote:

The police response here is poor, but it's probably the best that they could offer with a stretched budget, a barely translucent blue line, and umpteen other important calls to attend to.

How very dare you get all rational and real-worldy-unintended-consequences on me  3

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sswindells replied to KiwiMike | 9 years ago
0 likes
KiwiMike wrote:
Sswindells wrote:

The police response here is poor, but it's probably the best that they could offer with a stretched budget, a barely translucent blue line, and umpteen other important calls to attend to.

How very dare you get all rational and real-worldy-unintended-consequences on me  3

Always a pleasure. I understand the frustration. When I had my bike nicked out of the garden I had to file my own crime report because I didn't get any response. But at the same time, being a PC in GMP I know the harsh reality and it's pretty rubbish.

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