Petition to Police - Stop Bike Theft Dead

[classic33]

There's enough information given on your site, http://stolen-bikes.co.uk/stolen-bikes/velotraum-cross-7005-ex-with-rohloff-speed-hub-14-gears/ to enable anyone to claim the bike back from the police. Theirs or not.
You're making the job of returning them to the legal owners harder, not easier.

 

[mossj88]

There's enough information given on your site, http://stolen-bikes.co.uk/stolen-bikes/velotraum-cross-7005-ex-with-rohloff-speed-hub-14-gears/ to enable anyone to claim the bike back from the police. Theirs or not.
You're making the job of returning them to the legal owners harder, not easier.

I don't think I am, first step before reporting on my site is to report it to the police. The report the police would then have is date stamped, and includes the frame number, so thus if there is any question of the owner of the bike it's easy enough to work around.

Put simply how would a site like mine, ever be useful if we did not take the frame number, we could have it hidden behind a blind search but I have seen bikes recovered because someone tapped in the frame number of the bike into Google.

In over 1000 bikes it's never been an issue. The success rate of bikes on the site is roughly double/triple that of the Police Force (but still too low for my liking).

Anyway back to the petition, this isn't about making every frame number published, it's about making them searchable to anyone.

For your specific police example currently when a bike comes into police hands, they record the frame number, they check their own database, they then check their preferred partner and sometimes the NMPR, then rarely they might post it on social media, to newspapers or on their website. All this does is element the checking of multiple places, in favor of checking every police database for that frame number.

 

[classic33]

I don't think I am, first step before reporting on my site is to report it to the police. The report the police would then have is date stamped, and includes the frame number, so thus if there is any question of the owner of the bike it's easy enough to work around.

Put simply how would a site like mine, ever be useful if we did not take the frame number, we could have it hidden behind a blind search but I have seen bikes recovered because someone tapped in the frame number of the bike into Google.

In over 1000 bikes it's never been an issue. The success rate of bikes on the site is roughly double/triple that of the Police Force (but still too low for my liking).

Anyway back to the petition, this isn't about making every frame number published, it's about making them searchable to anyone.

For your specific police example currently when a bike comes into police hands, they record the frame number, they check their own database, they then check their preferred partner and sometimes the NMPR, then rarely they might post it on social media, to newspapers or on their website. All this does is element the checking of multiple places, in favor of checking every police database for that frame number.

You're not quite right on this part. Most record the basic details only & when a request is made by a person who has had their bike stolen, they will check the bike itself.
The "owner" providing the finer details such as after market fittings, scratches & of course the frame number. All of which is included on your own site. That's why I said you gave too much detail on your site. Put another way, if they were motor vehicles, you've provided the VIN/VIM number. Vehicle may have had false plates or no plates when recovered.

If you go back to the petition, are you really trying to put yourself out of business? Because thats what you're saying by wanting people to be able to search the police databases for their property. Something that will never happen, simply because their is too much risk involved with public access to police data(my opinion). OR are you wanting to get in first to say I can do that for you, here's my track record!

The more you say, the more I question your motives.

 

[mossj88]

Okay before we start resorting to personal attacks about my website (which has run very successfully thank you very much), what you have mentioned I have considered and discussed with various experts and it's a none issue currently. Lets get back to the petition.

Give me one situation where being able to check a frame number against a list of stolen bike frame numbers from the Police database is a bad thing.

 

[classic33]

..stuff... (see, you taught me that bit)
&
Give me one situation where being able to check a frame number against a list of stolen bike frame numbers from the Police database is a bad thing.

For the average person on the street, lots. I've already "claimed" one bike back going on the information on your site. The final nail in the coffin was being able to give the frame number. Something which normally I wouldn't have had. How does that suit you.
Current problem as I gave to you, which you seem to have ignored is that different forces use different databases. Some police stations have both the manpower & the equipment to check all lost/recovered property for serial numbers prior to logging them on their own database. A database that isn't always shared, as I've pointed out but you've ignored, between police forces.
You advocate free access to a as yet non-existent database, on the police computer system. Where is this as yet non-existent database going to come from? Some-one has to set it up, maintain it & ensure its correct, don't they?

You asked I answered & you don't like the answers given. If thats going to be the case I'd stop asking.

 

[classic33]

If somone does set this database up, then it would render your own sites all but useless. Thereby putting you out of business or at best decreasing the business your sites recieve.
Are you really saying you want to get your own sites put out to pasture? Answer on this would be appreciated instead of

..stuff...

which makes it seem as though you're avoiding answering akward questions.

 

[mossj88]

Hi, sorry if it seems I'm avoiding the questions, I think it's just a case of not understanding whats being asked.

1. Are you really saying you want to get your own sites put out to pasture?
Only one of my sites would potentially become less useful (I don't think it would be useless, as victims of crime often want to take a proactive approach), the others would be easily adapted to this change and would indeed benefit from it (some more than others). I would also benefit from the work I put in from the publicity this will generate and it would of course feature on my CV.

2. Where is this as yet non-existent database going to come from? Some-one has to set it up, maintain it & ensure its correct, don't they?
Currently there is a central database that holds publicly accessible (through an API) crime information, it's carries a delay and isn't used for this sort of thing but could easily be adapted (IMO). Failing that it is possible to run whats called a interface, where a client sends one request, which is then forwarded to individual databases and a single answer returned back to the client. An example of this is CheckThatBike API which queries multiple stolen bike databases and returns the answer but technically it does not run it's own central one (yes this site would benefit from what I'm asking). Of course someone might have to do some work at some point, but the project the Home Office is running is specifically for this sort of open data work so I imagine they have a budget to work with.

Hopefully this answers the questions you had? If I've missed anything let me know.

 

[classic33]

Hi, sorry if it seems I'm avoiding the questions, I think it's just a case of not understanding whats being asked.

1. Are you really saying you want to get your own sites put out to pasture?
Only one of my sites would potentially become less useful (I don't think it would be useless, as victims of crime often want to take a proactive approach), the others would be easily adapted to this change and would indeed benefit from it (some more than others). I would also benefit from the work I put in from the publicity this will generate and it would of course feature on my CV.

2. Where is this as yet non-existent database going to come from? Some-one has to set it up, maintain it & ensure its correct, don't they?
Currently there is a central database that holds publicly accessible (through an API) crime information, it's carries a delay and isn't used for this sort of thing but could easily be adapted (IMO). Failing that it is possible to run whats called a interface, where a client sends one request, which is then forwarded to individual databases and a single answer returned back to the client. An example of this is CheckThatBike API which queries multiple stolen bike databases and returns the answer but technically it does not run it's own central one (yes this site would benefit from what I'm asking). Of course someone might have to do some work at some point, but the project the Home Office is running is specifically for this sort of open data work so I imagine they have a budget to work with.

Hopefully this answers the questions you had? If I've missed anything let me know.

Well, going on whats given in your answers above. There appears to have been very recent activity on the site now shown in red, on your part. Most of the other links lead back to yourself, including checkthatbike.

Question still remains with regards the police having both the manpower & the equipment required to check & log every stolen bike thats either recovered by them as a result of something else or a third party handing the bike into them.
Then there's the cutbacks in manpower & the as yet non-existant database that requires setting up & all police forces to use. Not all use the same databases or will pass that information onto other forces, as I pointed out.