Bikies, I have forwarded a message I just sent to Captain Klubertanz (of the east district) on the subject of improving how the MPD deals with the theft of bicycles. I would encourage everyone on this list to also share your ideas on the topic.
- matt -----Original Message----- From: Matt Logan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 9:33 AM To: 'Klubertanz, Jill'; 'Rummel, Marsha'; 'Schauf, Mary' Cc: 'Konkel, Brenda'; 'Verveer, Mike'; 'Judge, Eli'; 'Rhodes-Conway,Satya'; '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'; '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Subject: RE: Rash of bike thefts - near east and central areas. Capt. Klubertanz, I would be more than happy to share some ideas for addressing my concerns about bicycle thefts : 1) Find someone at the MPD who is intrinsically motivated to improve the MPDs ability to reduce/prevent bike theft, promote the cultural awareness of bicycle issues within the MPD, and get stolen bicycles returned to their owners. Provide this person with a reasonable amount of on-duty time ( 1 hour a week for a couple months?) to research the problem, identify solutions, create policy recommendations, and evangelize their results within the department. We live in a country dominated by car culture and frankly, I dont trust the average American to understand bicycle issues enough to be able to address issues that are important to bicyclists. Police officers are generally no different in this respect than the average American. That is why you need to go out of your way to find someone who does understand bicycle issues. How you know when you have found the right person: You will be concerned that they will spend too much time on bicycle issues at the expense of their other duties. Here is an example of what is possible when somebody passionate about bicycle issues is on the case: http://www.channel3000.com/news/17127064/detail.html 2) Contact an array of local bike shop employees to get a better Idea about the bicycle theft activity in the city. Most bicyclists I know dont have a lot of confidence in the MPD when it comes to bicycle thefts. Therefore I am skeptical that the data on bike thefts below accurately reflects theft activity for this or any other year. 3) Create a Press release/incident report to broadcast the fact that there are bike thefts going on in certain parts of the city: Here is a great example of how creating an incident report for a $20 theft can be used to raise awareness of crime: http://www.cityofmadison.com/incidentReports/incidentDetail.cfm?id=9264 Which led to this media report (among others): http://www.channel3000.com/news/16965487/detail.html As part of the press release, the MPD could include your recommendation: "It may help if owners of expensive bikes can pick more visible areas to lock their bikes when they have that option." The press release should also include information about times and locations of thefts. (Allows bicycle owners in affected areas to take precautions. Makes residents in impacted areas more likely to be on the lookout for perpetrators) The press release should encourage bicyclists to register their bicycles. (significantly increases chances of the bicycle being returned) The press release should encourage bicyclists who have had their bikes stolen to report the crime. (significantly increases the awareness of the police) The press release should leave the impression that the MPD takes bicycle thefts seriously. (significantly increases the motivation to register bikes and report bicycle thefts). The following news story from yesterdays cap times is a great example of why bicyclists dont bother to report the crime: http://www.madison.com/tct/mad/topstories/299468 >From the story: "Legally, the police told me they couldn't do anything, which is why I told them what I was planning on doing," Nett said. "They strongly discouraged me from meeting the guy and said they were concerned about my personal safety." This is pathetic. If The MPD can file an incident report for $20 of stolen gasoline (which later gets picked up on the evening news), they can at least do the same for people like April Nett. Again, I cannot understate the sense of abject failure I perceive on the part of the MPD when it comes to bicycle theft and I am not the only one. 4) It is time to re-evaluate MPDs policies with regard to officers picking up abandoned bicycles. Now that bicycles are no longer picked up at the curbside by waste management, I believe the number of unclaimed abandoned bikes will decrease. Why? Because it was obvious to me that a lot of the abandoned bikes that showed up in my yard on 4th street were picked up off of the terrace on pick-up day. The Bike Recovery pickup routine is a joke! If I call on Monday at 9am, the next time the team will be available for pickup is 7am the next day and I have been told I cannot store an abandoned bicycle in a safe location for later pickup. That means there are 22 hours for that same bike to be stolen again by another opportunistic thief. Abandoned bicycles should be picked up immediately! -----Original Message----- From: Klubertanz, Jill [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 5:52 PM To: Rummel, Marsha; Matt Logan; Schauf, Mary Cc: Konkel, Brenda; Verveer, Mike; Judge, Eli; Rhodes-Conway,Satya Subject: RE: Rash of bike thefts - near east and central areas. Looking at our numbers for bike thefts... Central in 2008: April - 10, May - 12, June - 18, July - 8 Central in 2007 April - 12, May - 12, June - 10, July - 24 East in 2008 April - 5, May - 4, June - 5, July - 3 East in 2007 April - 1, May - 4, June - 4, July - 3 Every year there are a number of bikes stolen by cutting the locks. And yes they tend to be the more expensive ones. The ones that were not locked and stolen tend to be less expensive. I would be open to hearing from Matt any ideas/suggestions he has for addressing this issue. The police' ability to monitor locked bikes is obviously very limited at best. It may help if owners of expensive bikes can pick more visible areas to lock their bikes when they have that option. Capt. Klubertanz From: Rummel, Marsha Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 12:11 AM To: Matt Logan; Klubertanz, Jill; Schauf, Mary Cc: Konkel, Brenda; Verveer, Mike; Judge, Eli; Rhodes-Conway,Satya Subject: RE: Rash of bike thefts - near east and central areas. Thanks for the heads up Matt. I'd like to hear more from the Captains. Marsha From: Matt Logan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2008 9:04 AM To: Klubertanz, Jill; PD Central Police District Cc: Rummel, Marsha; Konkel, Brenda; Verveer, Mike; Judge, Eli; Rhodes-Conway,Satya Subject: Rash of bike thefts - near east and central areas. I have heard from multiple sources (bike shops, bike blogs) that there is currently a rash of bike thefts in central and near east Madison. Can you confirm that there is a spike in bike thefts? What are the police currently doing to address this problem? The two common threads that are emerging: 1) Higher-end fixed-gear bikes are being targeted. 2) Theives are cutting/breaking the lock, leaving, then returning a few hours later to take the bike. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
