Gangsters have realised the value of bicycles and how easy it is to steal them. The rider is unprotected, there is no key access, no immobiliser, no tracker and bikes cost as much as cars these days. Bikes don't need to be registered, there is no engine or VIN number logged anywhere (honestly, how many of us even know our frame number or have it written down somewhere?) Disposal and transport of stolen bikes is a breeze. There is a bigger demand for bikes than for cars. The cops can't tell the difference between an Epic S-Works and a China dikwiel special and probably don't even look twice at any cyclist on the road. SAPS is split into clusters, each comprising 3-4 police stations. Each cluster , supposedly, has a Second Hand Goods officer who is tasked with checking pawn shops, Cash Crusaders and the like. They are not trained to be bicycle experts, and honestly, we can't expect them to be. It's too much to learn. Clusters don't communicate well with each other, there is no overarching control mechanism in place that could help to make the disposal of stolen bikes more difficult. The cops on the road are not capable to get a lid on crime , that's something we all agree on (except SAPS of course). As cyclists we're at the mercy of the criminals ( as we are as home owners, motor car owners, etc). The cops don't like to accept the help of the public, because they feel like they are being shown up and I think it dents their ego as well. We as cyclists who know about bikes,parts etc, should have a strong link to SAPS assisting them with information so that they can ID a stolen bike and recover it. When a bike is jacked as happened this morning, SAPS should be calling someone in the cycling community to tell them about it so that the details are disseminated rapidly and the net closes a little tighter. It's pie in the sky stuff. The authorities are just to slow and inefficient.
