On 24/02/2024 02:54, Spike wrote:
>
> Victims call for more police at hotspot for violent bikejacking gangs
> targeting "list" of high-value bikes
>
> One cyclist — targeted by motorbike-riding bikejackers while riding a
> £15,000 Pinarello Dogma — said it is "normally the same three brands:
> Pinarello, Bianchi and S-Works", with Brompton also reportedly writing to
> the Met Police commissioner urging action...
>
> by DAN ALEXANDER
>
> Victims of violent London bikejackings in the area surrounding Regent's
> Park, believed to be the work of violent gangs shipping the high-value
> bicycles to Russia, have urged the Metropolitan Police to station more
> officers at the crime hotspot.
>
> Two months on from new figures revealing that there are two bikejackings a
> day taking place across London as a whole, cyclists who use the quiet, and
> at some times traffic-free roads of Regent's Park, have recalled even more
> incidents of violent attacks by criminals targeting high-value bicycles in
> the surrounding area.
>
> Speaking to The Times (link is external), a 49-year-old man who was riding
> a £15,000 Pinarello Dogma on his way to the park at around 5am in
> mid-December explained how he was approached "when two guys idled up to me
> on a motorbike and one said to the other, "'It's on the list'."
>
> Scott said he felt "targeted" as he had no trouble when riding his other
> bike, worth £1,000, and is in Facebook groups where other bikejackings have
> been reported. "It's normally the same three brands: Pinarello, Bianchi and
> S-Works," he suggested.
>
> "The police told me there had been a significant number of bike-jackings at
> that time in the morning. It's dark and cyclists are vulnerable. My
> understanding from groups [is] there's been about eight to ten taken in
> about a month. I've ridden all over the world and it's not an issue in
> other countries — it seems to be prevalent here," he said.
>
>> "Copycat" moped mugger kicks cyclist into fence, threatens to stab him,
>> and steals bike in yet another violent bikejacking
>
> "They told me to 'get off the f***ing bike' and tried to force me off the
> road. I fell off and a car stopped and opened the door. I threw my bike in
> and jumped in and the guys continued to ride around the car shouting, 'Get
> out the f***ing car'. It was pretty scary. They continued to wait outside
> the car yelling at us and then a security guard came by and they took off."
>
> It has been reported that "several British cycling organisations, including
> the bike manufacturer Brompton" are preparing a letter to Sir Mark Rowley,
> the Metropolitan Police commissioner, to urge a greater police presence in
> the area to deter criminals.
>
> Such incidents in the English capital and its bordering counties are
> nothing new, numerous similar reported over the past few years, perhaps the
> most high-profile that involving professional cyclist Alexandar Richardson
> who was was knocked off and dragged for 100 metres by muggers on motorbikes
> who threatened him with a machete as he trained in south-west London's
> Richmond Park.
>
> Last April a teenager, who was 15 at the time of the attack, was sentenced
> to 12 months for his role in the attack. However, the police reports from
> Regent's Park suggest bikejackings there have become the speciality of
> organised gangs, rather than the, in some cases, apparently opportunistic
> criminal acts of youths reported in other parts of London and Kent.
>
> The cyclist who jumped into a car to avoid having his Pinarello Dogma
> stolen said he heard the robbers look at his bike and say "this is on the
> list", suggesting they are targeting specific high-value bicycles, often
> targeting riders in or on their way to Regent's Park to use the roads
> between 5am and 7am, when it is closed to car drivers.
>
> The Times compared the robberies to similar crimes committed by "Rolex
> ripper" gangs targeting high-value watches in London, and reported that
> bikejacking victims had been told by the police that they believed the
> robberies are being carried out by an Albanian gang that is shipping the
> bikes to Russia, where high-end bikes are difficult to obtain due to
> sanctions.
>
> "An incredibly frightening experience"
>
> Another victim explained how his £5,000 Cannondale was taken while he
> cycled to Regent's Park at around 6.15am in November.
>
> "I've been cycling to Regent's Park for years but never had an issue. I've
> heard about problems increasing recently," Simon Fox said. "Three guys on a
> motorbike drove past me slowly and looked me up and down. I turned off down
> a residential street but they turned around the wrong way on a
> dual-carriageway and followed me. I got off the bike and one of them gave
> me an almighty push.
>
> "One grabbed my bike and ran off and the others were pushing me and shoving
> me. They told me to empty my pockets and took my phone. It was an
> incredibly frightening experience and now I do not cycle early in the
> morning."
>
> Another cyclist lost his Brompton near King's Cross in December during an
> attack which saw him punched and kicked.
>
> "A moped drew up alongside me. The two men looked down at the logo of the
> Brompton, and I immediately realised I was in trouble," he recalled. "I
> turned down a side street close to my home and the moped drew alongside me.
> They cut in front to block my path and there was a stand-off.
>
> "I was then struck to the side of the left eye. The passenger also gestured
> as if to pull a knife from his jacket. I was on the ground with the bike on
> top of me — I was kicked in the left side of the head and then repeatedly
> in the lower back. The driver of the moped then joined in."
>
> The national police lead for cycle crime reduction, Titus Halliwell,
> insisted "we're not being dismissive of these problems and are very keen to
> get it resolved".
>
> "We could do more but figures show cycle thefts are coming down. We have
> finite resources and are in the process of collecting data so we can best
> deploy our limited but capable resources," he claimed.
>
> Last month we reported that analysis of Home Office data showed nine in 10
> bike theft cases reported to the police since 2019 went unsolved, with the
> Liberal Democrats warning that bike theft has effectively been
> "decriminalised".
>
> Of all bike thefts reported to the police since 2019, 89 per cent (more
> than 365,000) have gone unsolved, the analysis of Home Office data showed,
> pointing to more than eight reported bike thefts an hour and 200 per day
> going unsolved in England and Wales over the past four years.
>
>> Cycling UK hails "clever" policing after bait bicycle used to track down
>> £130,000 bike theft gang in one shift
>
> A Freedom of Information request made by the Telegraph at the back end of
> last year found that in the year to November 2023 there were 768 robberies
> of bicycles reported, equating to two incidents a day.
>
> Anecdotally too, bikejacking incidents appear to have become more prevalent
> in recent times, not just in London. Numerous incidents involving
> moped-riding criminals targeting lone riders in the lanes of Kent were
> reported over the past three years, pro cyclist Jennifer George saying she
> no longer rides alone after being subject to two bikejacking attempts.
>
>> Cyclist suffers shocking injuries as hooded gang steals £12,500
>> Specialized and beats victim
>
> The situation got so bad that in the summer of 2022 British Cycling said it
> was "deeply concerned" by the rise in violent bikejackings across south
> London, with policy manager Nick Chamberlin publishing a response to
> outline the issue, telling members what British Cycling is doing and
> offering advice.
>
> Chamberlin said: "We have heard from lots of clubs and individuals who are
> rightly very concerned about going out for a ride. It is extremely hard to
> discuss these sorts of issues without causing panic and the last thing any
> of us would wish is to deter people from cycling this summer through a fear
> of being attacked.
>
> "The sad reality however is that when these spikes in violent crime occur,
> and while we try to understand the pattern of incidents better, it is
> prudent for individuals, clubs and groups to discuss these concerns
> together and think carefully about the rides they have planned.
>
> "As with the incidents that occurred in Richmond Park last year, we know
> that by working together as a cycling community to quickly pass relevant
> information to the police we can support them to quickly and effectively
> tackle the issue."
>
> Around the same time, Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at Cycling UK,
> said he believes criminals are attracted towards stealing high-end bikes
> because the potential money to be made from selling them on far outweighs
> the chances of getting caught.
>
> "It is possibly perceived as a low-risk crime if the numbers of people
> being caught are so low," he explained. "It may be seen as a high-reward,
> low-risk crime.
>
> "There have been increasing concerns about people cycling out of London to
> the Kent and Surrey hills who have been victims of muggings or robbery.
> There are a limited number of routes where people would cycle out of
> London.
>
> "Somebody has posted on Strava what they are doing on their ride. The
> criminals will know it is someone on a £3,000 to £4,000 carbon fibre bike
> who has unwittingly signposted the fact that they are likely to be heading
> out to Kent or the Surrey Hills. It is on the police's radar."
>
> <https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-urge-police-presence-bikejacking-hotspot-306883>

Do I feel outraged by this?

Why should I, when the whole of London is gradually being turned over to
barbaric chavs on chav-bikes as their plaything?

What ye sow, so shall ye reap...

Knock yourself out, chavs.