MISSING BICYCLES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 90, 15 April 1912, Page 8

MISSING BICYCLES.

SOME MYSTERIES AND CONJECTURES.

There are probably few cities in the world in which there are more bicycles in use in proportion to the population than in Christchurch, and it is therefore not remarkable that a very large number of bicycles arc annually reported as lost or stolon, say;: the Press. Last year the number ol missing bicycles reported to the police was over 300, and if the average value be taken as £5, a conservative estimate, £ISOO worthof property took to itself wings in that year alone. The average is being well maintained during the present year. The majority of these missing bicycles have disappeared under circumstances which leave no room for doubt that they have been stolen. Only a small proportion are recovered, and most of the recovered machines arc

in such a condition that the owner suffers a relatively heavy loss. The number of arrests made in respect of bicycle thefts is ridiculously small compared with the number of bicycles stolen.

The police can hardly be blamed for this state of affairs, for it must be admitted that the average cyclist is deplorably careless. Bicycles worth anything from £3 to £2O are left for hours unguarded in the streets, even: at night, and it is a matter for sur- 1 prise that thefts arc not even' morefrequent. So careless are some bicycle owners that on the loss of a machine, they do not even trouble to inform the police of their loss or make 1 any inquiries with a view to the recovery of their property. In the “found bicycle” room at the Christchurch Police Station at present there are 10 or 50 bicycles which have been found on the streets or in vacant sections. They include over a dozen good B.S.A. bicycles, half a dozen good Swifts, and representative machines of most ot icr popular makes, including Rudge-AVhit-worths and Rovers. 1 The proportion of ladies’ bicyicles is noticeably small. No claim has been made by the owners of these bicycles, though many have been there for months. Occasionally even a motor cycle finds its way into the hands of the police without inquiry from the owner. It is one of the unsolved mysteries of the missing bicycle problem that these bicycles, representing hundreds of pounds in: value, should be awaiting their owners without those 'individuals stirring a huger to recover their property. It would seem reasonable to suppose that many cylists on losing a bicycle, promptly “write off” the loss ip ih'eir private, account books, deeming recovery, impossible. •Indeed, the task of recovering a missing bicycle in a city such as this is'a tremendous one. Bicycles are so standardised that in many instances the number stamped on the frame is the only means of identification, ant, numbers can be easily hied off. Too bicycle thief can interchange handlebars, saddles, wheels, and sprockets, ■ until a bicycle is well-night unrecognisable, and a coat of enamel of leuj works wonders in disguising the, idon-i ■tity.of a stolen machine. There is no piece of property so easy to steal as a bicycle. Like ■ tno horse, it provides the thief with a speedy means of escape from the scene of the theft, and identification of a bicycle is more difficult-than, the identification of a horse.

The system adopted by the police in New Zealand when a missing bicycle is reported is to take a detailed description of the machine on an itemised form provided for the purpose. Copies of the description are mimeographed and supplied to all bicycle dealers and repairers. It is manifestly impossible, in 999 out of 1000 cases, for the police to identify a bicycle by the description given, and it is probably nearly as difficult for the dealer or repairer to do so. The only person who has a chance of identifying the lost machine is the owner, and comparatively few cases are reported in which the owner of a missing bicycle lias seen it again in this city in the possession of another person. ihe police do good service to the public by removing to the Police Station any bicycles they find unguarded in the streets at night. Many persons who lose their bicycles find them at the Police Station next day, if ■the. loss is the result of their 'Own carelessness, and sometimes a bicycle is found a week after its 1 loss, often miles away from the place from which it was taken. These latter cases are cases of temporary theft, and are or fairly frequent occurrence. It would seem that a certain type of idividual, perhaps under tlie influence of liquor, will steal a bicycle, ride it home, and then, fearing detection, leave it in the street, or in a paddock, sometimes wantonly mutilating the machine before thus disposing of it. Such offences, of course, it is difficult to sheet home.

With regard to the largo number of bicycles which disappear utterly, many conjectures have been made. It lias been suggested that there are one or more small factories in Christchurch where stolen bicycles are received and altered beyond recognition by the interchange of parts and in other ways. Another conjecture u that many stolen bicycles are exported to receivers in other centres. Tmnv is no evidence of wholesale or organised bicycle stealing, but the rarity with which stolen bicycles arc recovered suggests some degree of experience on the part of those responsible for their disappearance. It is not only from the open street that bicycles arc stolon, but from corridor: in office buildings, back-yard bicycle racks, and from verandahs of private dwellings. The police suggest to bicycle owners as a safeguard against loss, that they

should refrain from leaving Incycl:r> in the street, and should always lock a machine with a strong look when it is left unattended. Eli may locks, which can bo easily opened without a special key, are of no use, and a gore padlock, preferrably of the multi-lever variety is recommended.