Police Bike Security Tagging
ic.
Posts: 769
Thought I'd share my experience from the weekend. There was a cycle "fun day" at the local park, where one of the advertised options was a police cycle security tagging stand. Having had 4 bikes stolen in the past, I thought it might be an idea to take the bike down.
In case you've seen this advertised and wondered, here's what they did....
A couple of PCSOs were on hand doing the tagging. They asked what my bike was made from (carbon) and selected a tag specific to that (They appeared to be using a glue to attached tags to aluminium and steel frames so they could not be removed), but for carbon they had some stickers with an ID number on. The PCSO explained that even if the sticker was removed, it should leave an imprint of the ID number behind.
So while I was filling in a form with my details the PCSO made a dogs dinner of attaching the sticker to my R3, on the downtube near the BB. He left it at a nice wonky angle.
I'm told there is now a website I can go onto using my email address and a password I supplied so I can manage my details going forwards. Change of address etc. If I sell the bike, there is an option to change the owner, I'm told. If the bike is stolen and found, the police will use these details to return it to me.
And that was it. Probably took 5 minutes and cost nothing, so can't be a bad thing.
2 further highlights from the day though, just for laughs:
1. The bloke 2 in front of me had a Carrera road BSO that looked to be about 5 years old. The PCSO asked if was carbon, to which he replied "erm, I dunno really" so the PCSO decided it best to proceed as if it was. I was stood 30 feet away and I can honestly say that bike had the ugliest welds I have ever seen. Funny that. With it being carbon
2. My mate took his bike to the free Dr Bike Check. He came away with a quote for £80 to "sort it all out for you mate". Apparently he needed a new cassette, new cables and a chain. Funny that, seeing as how the groupset was replaced about 500 miles ago. Free Bike Check or opportunity to fleece some passers by? The latter it seems. He only wanted a bit of help with his front shifting.
In case you've seen this advertised and wondered, here's what they did....
A couple of PCSOs were on hand doing the tagging. They asked what my bike was made from (carbon) and selected a tag specific to that (They appeared to be using a glue to attached tags to aluminium and steel frames so they could not be removed), but for carbon they had some stickers with an ID number on. The PCSO explained that even if the sticker was removed, it should leave an imprint of the ID number behind.
So while I was filling in a form with my details the PCSO made a dogs dinner of attaching the sticker to my R3, on the downtube near the BB. He left it at a nice wonky angle.
I'm told there is now a website I can go onto using my email address and a password I supplied so I can manage my details going forwards. Change of address etc. If I sell the bike, there is an option to change the owner, I'm told. If the bike is stolen and found, the police will use these details to return it to me.
And that was it. Probably took 5 minutes and cost nothing, so can't be a bad thing.
2 further highlights from the day though, just for laughs:
1. The bloke 2 in front of me had a Carrera road BSO that looked to be about 5 years old. The PCSO asked if was carbon, to which he replied "erm, I dunno really" so the PCSO decided it best to proceed as if it was. I was stood 30 feet away and I can honestly say that bike had the ugliest welds I have ever seen. Funny that. With it being carbon
2. My mate took his bike to the free Dr Bike Check. He came away with a quote for £80 to "sort it all out for you mate". Apparently he needed a new cassette, new cables and a chain. Funny that, seeing as how the groupset was replaced about 500 miles ago. Free Bike Check or opportunity to fleece some passers by? The latter it seems. He only wanted a bit of help with his front shifting.
2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey
The departed:
2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
Boardman CX Team - sold
Cannondale Synapse - broken
Cube Streamer - stolen
Boardman Road Comp - stolen
2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey
The departed:
2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
Boardman CX Team - sold
Cannondale Synapse - broken
Cube Streamer - stolen
Boardman Road Comp - stolen
0
Comments
-
I've so far found the tagging utterly pointless.
Had a frame pinched from the back garden and was unable to mark it as nicked on the website without a police report number. Used my local police site to get a number which has never materialised.
At the end of the day, if you are worried about your bike being nicked have it insured.0 -
They did mine with some UV paint and a stencil on the bottom bracket junction and it was invisible in almost all light. Then a sticker to deter thieves in a prominent place by the seat tube junction.
The PCSO who did it seemed to be a bike guy himself though as he informed me that my job of wrapping the bar tape was a disaster.0 -
My advice to the OP would be given the fact that he has had 4 bikes stolen in the past , to sell the house and move to a better area. I somehow managed to leave 6k worth of tt bike on the pavement leaning up against my garden wall all night , guess what ,it was still there in the morning .constantly reavalueating the situation and altering the perceived parameters accordingly0
