If this happened and white male conservatives were doing this they would be branded vigilantes and under DOJ/FBI investigation.
Average value over $1,200. Sounds like some interesting insurance claims.
Uh, didn’t they authorize taking other folks hard earned property as acceptable recently or does it start Jan 1. 🤔
The people of Burlington complaining about bike theft? That’s not very progressive of them. They should be cheering the distribution of wealth.
I sold a Trek mountain bike a few years ago to a man for his son that was starting college at UTK. He called shortly after to say that the bike was stolen off the bike rack at the college while his son was in class. He asked if I had the paperwork with the serial number on it because they had located the bike (in Amish country of course) and in order to claim it he needed the serial number. I did have all of the information and he was able to recover the bike.
Most colleges and hospitals seem to be located near the seedy parts of town and bike thefts are common. Bikes are easy to get away with fast and most people don’t keep the serial numbers. This guy and his son got lucky. Treks aren’t cheap and I didn’t give it away.
Reading the article reveals bike theft is the tip of the iceberg. Having gone all-in on defunding the police, the town of Burlington is now “unexpectedly” facing the fallout.
- They can’t recruit enough new cops
- Theft is on the rise
- Violent crime is on the rise
- Meth use is now on the rise
Leftists destroy everything, yet they can’t connect cause and effect.
This reminds me of living in Carlsbad NM back in 1961. Everyone had to lock up their bikes due to thefts.
In 1971, I visited Santa Fe NM. There on the SE corner of the square was a large parking lot with a light pole. Around that light pole was a chained up bicycle frame. NO wheels, handle bars, chains or pedals. Just a frame.
Is bike theft a crime in Vermont?
The article is long and very detailed.
And it’s really rich in truth, if you just read past the propaganda.
The residents of Burlington wanted specific changes, they formed coalitions, they voted for the changes - and now they have them.
As JD Vance says as bullet #1 on his website: “American decline was a choice”.
Burlington is a perfect example. The people voted for what they wanted and got it. What’s the problem?
I pass by homeless encampments all the time here in California where I see lots of new, pristine, expensive bikes all around the tents.
There is a LOT of theft here - people report bikes being stolen off of second story balconies.
My family and I ride a lot and have nice bikes - mine are behind a locked gate, inside a locked garage - and are still locked up at all times - on our bikes, the actual frame itself locks with a key - we do that, use titanium u-locks and make sure the console is off of the bikes as well.
Even then, thieves broke into my son-in-law’s garage, stole the old bikes but couldn’t budge the new bikes b/c the frames were locked.
It seems nowhere is save from these thieves.
Saw a video on YT, the guy said if you want to lock up your $$$$ bike, use no less than 4 locks with varying chain, cable,, bars and even then all you are buying is time. If it takes the thief longer than a couple seconds, they’ll move on
The video also showed pro bike thieves working out of a cargo van, a couple seconds with cutoff saws or bolt cutters, Chuck the bikes in the van, very quick, swarming tactics, hit and scoot.
They may need to investigate the local police:
Many years back, when I had a bicycle shop. I had a customer come in the store with a bike asking about getting the bike repaired. I had a carbon-fiber bike exactly like the bike and at the time, I knew that there were only 2 bikes like that in the state: My bike and a bike that was stolen about 2 weeks earlier. However, the customer who brought the bike in was not the kind of person who would steal a bike...he was a UPS delivery drive who delivered in the area. I had the stolen bikes serial number and I confirmed it with the printed police report of stolen bikes that we received once a month.
I told the guy that the bike was stolen and that I knew the owner, personally, and he had reported it stolen.
The guy with the bike told me that it was impossible because he had purchased it from a city police officer...from the trunk of his cruiser. He knew the officers name. I called the police and a captain came by with the officer. The guy with the bike recognized the officer...repeated the same story that he told me. The officer denied it...the captain said that it was impossible that the officer sold the bike. And the police left, the guy who had the bike stood by his story. I called the chief of police and told him what happened. He “investigated” and called me back to tell me that the bike had been recovered from a homeless person and it did not match the serial number or description of any reported stolen bikes. So they sent it off to a police bike auction in a larger city 75 miles away, and it was sold at auction. I told them that I had a copy of the stolen bike report where the bike was listed. He said they must have overlooked it. I asked it how the bike came back to the same city, how the person with the bike knew the officers name. He had no answer. Shortly afterwards, a police captain came by with the thieving officer and confronted me as to why I was harassing his officer. I told him that he was a thief and should be charged. He said there was no evidence of a crime.
For the next several months, I was harassed by the thieving officer. He would park in front of my house at night for hours, sometimes in his cruiser and sometimes in his personal car. I talked to an officer who I knew well regarding the matter. He told me that he had suspected for years that there was a ring of officers who were reselling confiscated items but he was never able to get proof. He suggested that I stop pushing the issue because he couldn’t guarantee that there would not be severe retaliation. Eventually, I got more at ease with the officer sitting in front of my house...I would walk my two Neapolitan Mastiffs at night and stop at his car...knock on the window, wave to him and snap a picture showing his car in front of my house. Eventually, he stopped the harassment. As far as I know the guy never got in any trouble with his job...but eventually, everything a person does catches up with them.
They have crime in Sanctuary Cities?
If they treated Angle Grinders and Cutting Wheels as they do guns...
Read later.