We at the FM Community Bicycle Workshop have had a good,(read: busy,
chaotic, overwhelming) first spring openand have run into a few
unexpected situations regarding stolen bikes. We have a one bike a
year limit policy and have had individuals get bikes from us, then
come back the next week saying theirs was stolen and they want to get
another one. Some of these were pretty decent, modern bikes (trek
4300, Giant Cyprus, Diamondback BMX) and we don't want to suspect the
worst, that these bikes were pawned or sold for profit rather than
ridden, but we also don't want to open ourselves up to exploitation
either. We have put in place a policy that if you bring us a copy of
your police report you are eligible for earning another bike, assuming
that folks wouldn't file a false police report. We don't live in an
area that has high bike theft rates, except for "bike hopping" where
people just grab a bike that isn't being used and leave it wherever
they end up. Basically, crime of opportunity rather than intent. The
bigger issue here is that we are getting folks bikes who can't
normally afford one, but not giving them the means to secure it. We
are interested in getting locks to give out to people who get bikes
from us through our referral system but are debating which is the best
solution. One idea would be to buy cheap cable locks in bulk. Another
idea we have had is a much more DIY approach: Get a roll of beefy
hardware store chain and a padlock and call it good. Has anyone run
into this? Thoughts?
-Andy FMCBW