Bag Thief

hfidgen
hfidgen Posts: 340
edited May 2011 in Commuting chat
Saw a woman in a heap by the side of the road in Bow this morning (ironically outside the Magistrates Court and opposite the Police station) she'd had some guy ride up to her at some red lights and try and steal her handbag out of the basket.

She'd managed to hold on, but had then fallen off the bike. Three other cyclists had stopped and one had ridden off to try and catch the guy but I was a bit too late on the scene to be useful.

Cheeky or what!
FCN 4 - BMC CX02

Comments

  • Mr Sharky
    Mr Sharky Posts: 172
    Why on Earth would you leave your handbag on full display in an area which is accessible to anyone???? It's a shame she had to go through it... but seriously though, do some people have so little common sense??? :?

    Hope they catch the scrote who took it, but I won't hold my breath.
    Hairy-legged roadie ( FCN 4 )
    Occasional fixed ( FCN 6 )
  • yocto
    yocto Posts: 86
    Mr Sharky wrote:
    Why on Earth would you leave your handbag on full display in an area which is accessible to anyone???? It's a shame she had to go through it... but seriously though, do some people have so little common sense??? :?

    Hope they catch the scrote who took it, but I won't hold my breath.

    Yeah yeah, blame the victim! I suppose you’d feel the same if an attractive lady wearing a short skirt were attacked – perhaps a burka would be a sensible solution.

    It's awful that she had to go through it. Why is it that cyclists get from all angles? Threats form motorists, bike thieves, muggers and stuff like this. It's no wonder so many people are put off cycling :(
  • Mr Sharky
    Mr Sharky Posts: 172
    I'm not blaming the victim... the thief is scum, no two ways about it and they're entirely to blame for actually taking the handbag. I'm simply saying that using some common sense and limiting the opportunity for them to do such stuff is just sensible, IMO. If that looks like I'm blaming the victim then so be it, I guess.

    No idea why you're harping on about what she was wearing. :roll:
    Hairy-legged roadie ( FCN 4 )
    Occasional fixed ( FCN 6 )
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,252
    Had my bike security marked by plod on Saturday and was given a leaflet explaining the basics of locking your bike and so on, all common sense. One of the comments was not to keep valuables in a basket or open panniers. Same as you wouldn't leave a handbag in plain view in a parked car. Why make life easy for thieving scum?
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    We need vigilantes!

    DDD in a black rubber suit and a stick on mask mewling around the capital on a Kuota with a PS3 in a front wicker basket as bait.

    He'd soon clean up this town!
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    Grieves me to say it but Sharkey is right. If you don't want the oxygen-thieving scrotes to nick your gear, don't give them the opportunity. You don't leave anything of value out where it could be easily lifted and then rely on something or someone being able to stop the theft taking place; you just don't present the scum with the opportunity in the first place. We don't live in 1954 anymore, where you could leave 30 guineas on the table and go out for walk down the lane leaving the back door open. Shame really.

    The analogy with short skirts etc is invalid, as to the best of my knowledge females aren't objects but people, therefore normal rules of theft don't apply.
  • thelawnet
    thelawnet Posts: 719
    CiB wrote:
    Grieves me to say it but Sharkey is right. If you don't want the oxygen-thieving scrotes to nick your gear, don't give them the opportunity. You don't leave anything of value out where it could be easily lifted and then rely on something or someone being able to stop the theft taking place; you just don't present the scum with the opportunity in the first place. We don't live in 1954 anymore, where you could leave 30 guineas on the table and go out for walk down the lane leaving the back door open. Shame really.

    The analogy with short skirts etc is invalid, as to the best of my knowledge females aren't objects but people, therefore normal rules of theft don't apply.

    Well not really, women get very upset at being told to dress modestly to minimise the risk of rape. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/ma ... k-clothing
  • yocto
    yocto Posts: 86
    CiB wrote:
    Grieves me to say it but Sharkey is right. If you don't want the oxygen-thieving scrotes to nick your gear, don't give them the opportunity. You don't leave anything of value out where it could be easily lifted and then rely on something or someone being able to stop the theft taking place; you just don't present the scum with the opportunity in the first place. We don't live in 1954 anymore, where you could leave 30 guineas on the table and go out for walk down the lane leaving the back door open. Shame really.

    The analogy with short skirts etc is invalid, as to the best of my knowledge females aren't objects but people, therefore normal rules of theft don't apply.

    Fair doos. It’s just really peeves me that times have changed that one has to be so vigilant. I’ve spent a lot of money and time building my wife’s dream bike and in the process of building my own, and it’s scares the bejesus out of me that some scum may nick our bikes, mug me or my wife, etc. Spending money on insurance (which would not cover the loss of our bikes as they are custom built (by myself)), having to carry 5kg worth of locks, removing the basket from my wife’s bike etc is fully annoying. :(
  • Gussio
    Gussio Posts: 2,452
    yocto wrote:
    Fair doos. It’s just really peeves me that times have changed that one has to be so vigilant. I’ve spent a lot of money and time building my wife’s dream bike and in the process of building my own, and it’s scares the bejesus out of me that some scum may nick our bikes, mug me or my wife, etc. Spending money on insurance (which would not cover the loss of our bikes as they are custom built (by myself)), having to carry 5kg worth of locks, removing the basket from my wife’s bike etc is fully annoying. :(

    Cool - let's talk build specs rather than daylight robbery....
  • bearfraser
    bearfraser Posts: 435
    DDD in a"Gimp" suit :?:
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    bearfraser wrote:
    DDD in a"Gimp" suit :?:

    It would scare the snot out of me!
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    Plus I'm led to believe that it's a personal ambition of his?
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • Gussio
    Gussio Posts: 2,452
    bearfraser wrote:
    DDD in a"Gimp" suit :?:

    The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know My name is the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon thee.
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    In fact I can see an entire underground graphic novel unfolding here with mice as his secret weakness. :D

    DDD, mild mannered public sector worker by day, the Maked Commuter by night.
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • yocto
    yocto Posts: 86
    Gussio wrote:
    yocto wrote:
    Fair doos. It’s just really peeves me that times have changed that one has to be so vigilant. I’ve spent a lot of money and time building my wife’s dream bike and in the process of building my own, and it’s scares the bejesus out of me that some scum may nick our bikes, mug me or my wife, etc. Spending money on insurance (which would not cover the loss of our bikes as they are custom built (by myself)), having to carry 5kg worth of locks, removing the basket from my wife’s bike etc is fully annoying. :(

    Cool - let's talk build specs rather than daylight robbery....

    Ok, to be fair it’s my dream bike for my wife! Though she loves it too. Word of warning, although these are my dream bikes, to most people they are hideous and would think that we’re fully safe from theft as surely no one would want to touch them with a barge pole :shock:

    Essentially they are f-frame Moultons from the 1960/70s. Without boring you too much, I’ve dismantled them , refurbished & stiffened the front suspension, built new wheels, swapped out steel parts for alloy ones, had it repainted and put it back all together again. I had a basket custom made for my wife’s bike but with this thread’s story and others like it, it may be coming off. Still working on mine (it is a slightly different model and will be sportier (17” wheels, Lauterwasser handlebars, no rear rack)) but here is a link to some pictures of my other half’s stead (don’t yet know how to embed photos into these threads!): http://tiny.cc/ye9fr
  • Gussio
    Gussio Posts: 2,452
    Dazzling reflection on the tyre sidewalls - nice.

    Interesting Wiki entry about Moultons here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moulton_Bicycle
  • nation
    nation Posts: 609
    Am I misunderstanding the anecdote? I had the impression that the bike was being ridden at the time the handbag was nicked.

    Are all the "don't put stuff in plain view" people basically saying people shouldn't use baskets full stop, in case someone nicks your stuff while you're stopped at the lights?
  • hfidgen
    hfidgen Posts: 340
    I think she'd stopped at the lights, but tbh I'm not 100% sure.

    I'm sure she wished she'd but a bungy cord or something over her bag, but still - not exactly what you expect to happen. She looked fairly shaken.
    FCN 4 - BMC CX02
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,252
    I am saying a bag in a basket when you're cycling is not safe. Bag snatchers will try and take a bag when a woman is holding it, snatching it out if a basket is even easier. Some means of covering it or holding it in make it a lot safer from the opportunist scum.
    I wouldn't go so far as to say it's asking for it, just making things a little too easy for the scrotes.
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,488
    SimonAH wrote:
    In fact I can see an entire underground graphic novel unfolding here with mice as his secret weakness. :D

    DDD, mild mannered public sector worker by day, the Maked Commuter by night.

    Oi, that's me and MonkeyMonster with the facemasks. He'll have to come up with something else.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • mudcow007
    mudcow007 Posts: 3,861
    bearfraser wrote:
    DDD in a"Gimp" suit :?:

    Bring out the GImp!!
    Keeping it classy since '83
  • MonkeyMonster
    MonkeyMonster Posts: 4,628
    SimonAH wrote:
    DDD, mild mannered public sector worker by day, the Maked Commuter by night.

    almost read that wrong and boy nelly would it have been a sight... Sure enough criminals would run away, problem being so would everyone else :D
    Le Cannon [98 Cannondale M400] [FCN: 8]
    The Mad Monkey [2013 Hoy 003] [FCN: 4]
  • Paulie W
    Paulie W Posts: 1,492
    CiB wrote:
    Grieves me to say it but Sharkey is right. If you don't want the oxygen-thieving scrotes to nick your gear, don't give them the opportunity. You don't leave anything of value out where it could be easily lifted and then rely on something or someone being able to stop the theft taking place; you just don't present the scum with the opportunity in the first place. We don't live in 1954 anymore, where you could leave 30 guineas on the table and go out for walk down the lane leaving the back door open. Shame really.

    Except in this case the bag was in a basket possibly right in front of her eyes, not left somewhere unattended. And she was riding through Bow (in the rush hour?) not the feckin Bronx. The suggestion that her behaviour lacks common sense or that she was in some way responsible for the theft - which is implcit in your words CiB - seems to miss the key point that we cannot always allow for behaviour that sits outside the norm. Where do you draw the line? I have a friend who had someone open his passnger side door at traffic lights and rip his sat nav off the dash board and run off. He was by the way driving through a pleasant, residential district of a mid-size town. Still, should have locked his door you say! Maybe he should have attached his sat nav to the dashboard more securely - maybe with a padlock?!
  • shouldbeinbed
    shouldbeinbed Posts: 2,660
    Paulie W wrote:
    CiB wrote:
    Grieves me to say it but Sharkey is right. If you don't want the oxygen-thieving scrotes to nick your gear, don't give them the opportunity. You don't leave anything of value out where it could be easily lifted and then rely on something or someone being able to stop the theft taking place; you just don't present the scum with the opportunity in the first place. We don't live in 1954 anymore, where you could leave 30 guineas on the table and go out for walk down the lane leaving the back door open. Shame really.

    Except in this case the bag was in a basket possibly right in front of her eyes, not left somewhere unattended. And she was riding through Bow (in the rush hour?) not the feckin Bronx. The suggestion that her behaviour lacks common sense or that she was in some way responsible for the theft - which is implcit in your words CiB - seems to miss the key point that we cannot always allow for behaviour that sits outside the norm. Where do you draw the line? I have a friend who had someone open his passnger side door at traffic lights and rip his sat nav off the dash board and run off. He was by the way driving through a pleasant, residential district of a mid-size town. Still, should have locked his door you say! Maybe he should have attached his sat nav to the dashboard more securely - maybe with a padlock?!

    Is it behaviour that sits outside 'the norm' though, bag snatches are a pretty frequent occurrence if my local paper is anything to go by and given the huge preponderence of opportunistic theft and all sorts of visul, audio and written media ads & police warnings about not leaving valuables on show etc it is at best naive to have a thing of value unsecured and enticingly on display?

    also the bag might as well have been 10 feet from her, element of surprise approached form behind, pushed off balance its immaterial that it was right in front of her eyes unless she was supergirl or some sort of ninja - this sort of complacency is what leads to opportunistic crime.

    the person responsible for the theft is the thief but she has made the job ridiculously easy for him. A bar bag or rack bag zipped shut would have been way more of a deterrent, even an elasticated cover or a bungee cord over the basket might have been the difference as it would have added that vital few seconds to the heist losing the element of surprise.

    she's the victim but she didn't help herself not to be.