Odd situation yesterday.. (possible bike thief related)

Zyzz

In short, I was walking down Nassau street yesterday when I noticed a guy with a hammer and screwdriver trying to break the lock of a locked bicycle..

Everyone was walking past as if nothing was going on so I went up and confronted him and asked if it was his bike, he said it was and that the key he had wasn't working..hence the tools! I wasn't really convinced so I stood a few meters away from him and noticed that he had a bag of tools in the basket of 1 of those Dublin bikes (a saw for metal locks, metal bar etc and a small D-lock..looked battered). I went up to him again and questioned that..to which he said that they were to try break the lock, also saying I could "call the cops", (I took a picture of him on the sly). He took a picture of the lock with his phone and then cycled off! I was out cycling an hour or so later and the bike was gone..

Now I know sh*t happens and we lose keys etc, but was I in the wrong to confront him about it? On 1 hand I feel like I may have stopped a bike being stolen, then on the other, I feel bad for confronting him if it was actually his bike..

macnab

Well done, I would expect to be asked the same questions if I was trying to cut a lock off a bike in a public place.

CaoimH_in

Fair fecking play!

wotdef

Wouldn't be a bad idea to drop into local Garda station and ask if said bike had been reported stolen. Even just to say you had seen guy acting suspiciously, show pic and if he has form then you've done your good deed .

Jawgap

So you went up to someone - in the centre of Dublin - who was brandishing a hammer and screwdriver and who may have been stealing something......

.......kudos on your civic mindedness, but I think that's a bit of a nuts thing to do.

Skrynesaver

Personally, if I'd banjaxedd my key I'd appreciate someone asking me what I was at with the angle-grinder

Zyzz

Jawgap wrote: »

So you went up to someone - in the centre of Dublin - who was brandishing a hammer and screwdriver and who may have been stealing something......

.......kudos on your civic mindedness, but I think that's a bit of a nuts thing to do.

I do see your point but bike theft is a disgusting act..if I can stop it or at least interrupt it, I will. (I don't mean that with a huge ego)

Lusk Doyle

Zyzz wrote: »

I do see your point but bike theft is a disgusting act..if I can stop it or at least interrupt it, I will. (I don't mean that with a huge ego)

Were either of you wearing helmets at the time? This is more important than you may think.

littleredspot

Fair play to you for confronting him. No genuine bike owner would object to you asking. The fact that he suggested you ring the cops would suggest to me that he was a thief.

I had to open my own lock before on Parnell st. First went at it with a bolt cutter then an angle grinder. In the middle of the day not one person stopped me!

Lusk Doyle

littleredspot wrote: »

Fair play to you for confronting him. No genuine bike owner would object to you asking. The fact that he suggested you ring the cops would suggest to me that he was a thief.

I had to open my own lock before on Parnell st. First went at it with a bolt cutter then an angle grinder. In the middle of the day not one person stopped me!

You should have tried the key before the bolt cutter!

Jawgap

Zyzz wrote: »

I do see your point but bike theft is a disgusting act..if I can stop it or at least interrupt it, I will. (I don't mean that with a huge ego)

I agree, but no bike is worth a hammer to the head

littleredspot wrote: »

Fair play to you for confronting him. No genuine bike owner would object to you asking. The fact that he suggested you ring the cops would suggest to me that he was a thief.

I had to open my own lock before on Parnell st. First went at it with a bolt cutter then an angle grinder. In the middle of the day not one person stopped me!

Someone taking something apart with an angle-grinder ain't an unusual sight around there

Roger Hassenforder

would you stop someone with an angle grinder on Parnell St.?
Fair dues though OP on your civicmindedness

Zyzz

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

Were either of you wearing helmets at the time? This is more important than you may think.

littleredspot wrote: »

Fair play to you for confronting him. No genuine bike owner would object to you asking. The fact that he suggested you ring the cops would suggest to me that he was a thief.

I had to open my own lock before on Parnell st. First went at it with a bolt cutter then an angle grinder. In the middle of the day not one person stopped me!

Funny you should mention that, a Garda car drove right past, looked at him and continued driving Guess they have better things to be doing :rolleyes:

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

would you stop someone with an angle grinder on Parnell St.?
Fair dues though OP on your civicmindedness

Fair point. If that was the case I'd alert the police and get them to investigate..

Or ask them why they are trying to steal my bike :pac:

(just kidding)

nak

I don't understand why people just ignore bike theft. If someone was going around town brazenly attempting to break into cars, people would call the gardai.

Saw a group of lads yanking on a bike at the side entrance to Penney's off O'Connell St. Some people were watching, but didn't say anything. Went up to them and asked what they were doing then said I was calling gardai. Was told by 1 of them I would be calling an ambulance if I did. Smiled and said I was terrified, they legged it. Told the gardai standing nearby about the lads. Threatening women makes you really hard

Zyzz

nak wrote: »

I don't understand why people just ignore bike theft. If someone was going around town brazenly attempting to break into cars, people would call the gardai.

Saw a group of lads yanking on a bike at the side entrance to Penney's off O'Connell St. Some people were watching, but didn't say anything. Went up to them and asked what they were doing then said I was calling gardai. Was told by 1 of them I would be calling an ambulance if I did. Smiled and said I was terrified, they legged it. Told the gardai standing nearby about the lads. Threatening women makes you really hard

They wouldn't have had the decency to call the ambulance after you had the decency to call the Gaurds? :rolleyes:



:pac:

check_six

I saw two middle aged women with a large bolt cutters staring at a locked bike on Nassau St a couple of months ago.

I thought about discussing the situation with them..., but then I decided I didn't want to join any kind of bike theft crew who struggled to open a crappy one strand cable lock with a huge bolt cutters...

I joke, of course, but I get the feeling that if someone is taking ages to break open a lock in public it's probably because they don't have any practice doing it, i.e. they are not bike thieves. The kind of fellas who do it regularly are able to attack the lock and take off with the bike, or leave it, pretty quickly.

One time, I saw a group of youths wandering towards a bike rack on Parnell St. One of them, who had an arm in a sling (!), reached out for a bike as they walked past, gave it a mighty wrench, and when the lock failed to pop, just kept on walking. His friends were just laughing along with one-arm-guy. I just stood there open-mouthed. If the bike lock had snapped, I don't think I would have had the wherewithal to challenge the mob, so fair play to you OP for saying something.

Keep_Her_Lit

nak wrote: »

Went up to them and asked what they were doing then said I was calling gardai. Was told by 1 of them I would be calling an ambulance if I did.

To which you replied: "Indeed. But that ambulance will be for you, SCOBE!!!"