Stolen and Found Pedal Cycles
| Date | 01 July 1965 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X6503800715 |
| Published date | 01 July 1965 |
| Author | M. J. C. Kennett |
| Subject Matter | Article |
SERGEANT
M.
J.
C.
KENNETT
Criminal Record Office, West Sussex Constabulary
STOLEN
AND
FOIJNO
PEDAL
Ul:ULES
Human nature being what it is, spectacular crimes invariably
make the headlines and catch the imagination of the public. Crimes
of violence, in particular, are followed with great interest. From the
point of view of the Police Service this is quite a good thing, for
publicity often stimulates information which would otherwise
remain hidden and many important investigations have been greatly
assisted by members of the public coming forward after the case has
been mentioned in a newspaper or on television.
This, however, is only true of the more serious offences. What
about the minor crimes, the mundane matters, those which go on
every day, year after year, and seldom, if ever, make news? To take
one such hardy annual let us consider the vexed question of stolen
and found pedal cycles
...
The Problem
In this affluent society it might be argued that the pedal cycle is
something of a back-number, but strangely enough this is far from
true: year after year, thefts of cycles continue to present a serious
problem to all police forces throughout the country and as such
occupy many hours of police time. Abandoned cycles, too, are
something of an embarrassment to the police, for not only must
owners be found for them, but in the meantime they must be stored,
often under very difficult and cramped conditions. Whilst practically
all forces deal with these machines as
"Found
Property",
it is
reasonable to assume that the great majority at least have been
stolen-probably
in a police district other than that in which they
are found. Thus, part at any rate of the problem is to restore the
found machines to their owners, the logic being that for every cycle
which comes into the possession of police there must be someone,
somewhere, who has reported its loss, unless of course it has been
genuinely abandoned by its owner, as in the case of a worn-out
machine, or when the owner has just not bothered to tell the police.
In few cases does the man who reports a stolen pedal cycle know
its frame number, whilst in many instances he can only supply a
very limited (and often inaccurate) description. This in itself is a
great hinderance, for, unless there is some outstanding feature, one
mass-produced cycle is very much like another and extremely
difficult to identify.
347 July 1965
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