The second picture is from a couple of days ago, not long after some pieces of shit had taken it, crashed it and burnt it.
The theft was reported to the police within minutes, and was caught on CCTV. Friends tracked down the wreck not long afterwards, which indicates the bike had a heavy frontal impact which is likely (hopefully) to have injured the rider. No contact from the police. Are they doing anything?
I'm not allowed access to the CCTV. This is due to GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) which is a regulation under EU law, introduced in May 2018. Not for the first time am I thankful for Brexit, as this lunacy is helping the scum stay free. I would by now have shared images on local social media, and maybe have a name. Action could then be taken, even by the police if we handed it to them and they're interested.
The oxygen thieves that took my bike are quite likely to be part of the gang that are regularly seen riding around the area, wheelying up and down the road, causing noise and nuisance, with no helmets on. Yes you've spotted the 'regularly', indicating nothing's been done to stop them yet. The likelihood is these are all stolen bikes, none will therefore be insured, and it's only a matter of time before there's an accident and they injure or even kill somebody. Will the police take more of an interest then, when it becomes higher profile?
I understand the police are stretched, and this wasn't a crime that involved someone being hurt physically. But that doesn't lessen the impact. Is that my only form of transport? Do I rely on it for work, or to be able to get around to care for someone? Could I therefore lose my job because I can't get there, or someone else be affected physically or mentally because I can't get to them?
Thankfully none of these apply in this case, but no-one else knows that. And if the rider is stupid or unskilled enough to crash the bike like that within a couple of minutes of taking it, why couldn't it be a person they hit next time? Does a child have to die before action's taken against these scum?
Right-thinking people would say 'no'. They want action now. I'd be quite happy to set up a sting, where we bait the trap and wait along the escape route to stop the perpetrators and 'rehabilitate' them. I'm pretty sure I'd get support, and also that I'd get a knock on my door from the police before the lowlife stopped screaming.
The danger with this lack of official action is that vigilante groups will be set up. It's happened before where official support has been lacking. Personally I don't have an issue if someone taking what doesn't belong to them gets beaten to within an inch of their life, and if it's the rider of a just-stolen motorcycle it's cut and dried. There is though, the danger that an innocent person is targeted in error, which isn't acceptable.
Police officers themselves are normal people, so have the same feelings as the rest of us. They feel the same about the dregs of our society, but are restricted as to what they can do. I've seen their frustration before when they caught some kids who'd tried to break into a car I owned, and their response was limited. Their application and result in catching the criminals wasn't backed up by the justice system and the pond life walked.
So a message to our new PM is that we have to fund our public services properly. Otherwise you will get decent law abiding people taking the law into their own hands, which will add pressure to police, NHS and fire service as revenge attacks are carried out.
All we want is a safe society, instead of one where the criminals flourish safe in the knowledge they can do what they want.
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