Motorbike stealing gang

[ginebra]

Quick message for everyone around the East Dulwich area to warn you of a gang stealing motorbikes. Last night at 1:30am my partner and I woke up to the alarm of the motorbike. We went outside of the house and we saw 2 blokes dress in black clothes, wearing baclavas and full face helmets. One of them was next to the bike and had broken the lock the other one arrived with a scooter as soon as they heard the shouting going. They run off down underhill road.

We have already informed the police...

Its exactly one year since we had our motorbike stolen around the area. Be careful.

[bobbsy]

Hi Ginebra,

Can you say which road this was on? I live on Underhill with a motorbike so am interested!

[ginebra]

It was in Underhill Road itself corner with Melford Rd. Last year it happened in Crebor Street. I hope it helps. Police adviced to put CCTV.

[Sue]

ginebra Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

Police adviced to put

> CCTV.

That's not going to be very helpful if the thieves are in balaclavas and full face helmets, is it?

Unfortunately.

All you'll get is an indication of height and body size, surely.

[LKR]

Oh no here we go again. we had a motorbike stolen on Landcroft road around 7 months ago. A second attempt was made 2 months later. Lock them up follow bikers and keep your eyes peeled. I wish that the council could put bike anchors on the road - front gardens not ideal when you have a tourer type bike.

[bobbsy]

Completely agree LKR! A few anchors placed on the road, or kerbs directly adjacent to the road would likely knock a lot of the theft on the head.

James Barber, if you're reading, how can we campaign for road anchors?

[ruffers]

One ward does them for free in gardens doesn't it?

[dimples]

We are on Belvoir road and we've had two def stolen ,one last year and one a month ago . Another one was I think taken abit further up the road but I don't know them . We've got a neighbourhood watch and someone at the meeting did witness the same thing as in hooded with their own bike aswell to escape on !

The bikes that were def stolen belonged to two different neighbours of mine , the latest one was discovered dumped and then pounded so the neighbour had to pay to get it back !

[kford]

Attempted theft of my bike just now, in the Fellbrigg area. Youths on 125 scooter, lump hammer/chisel on lock. Rode off towards the Rye.

Police attended pretty swiftly.

[James Barber]

Hi bobs,

I've tried getting anchors in the road and happy to try again. No guarantees that someone won't have parked over an anchor when they're not in use with a car or van. So you then can't rely upon them.

How could we make this work?

[bobbsy]

James,

How about small (say one car length) defined motorcycle parking bays with one long anchor? That should park easily 3 or 4 motorcycles.

[Abe_froeman]

That's what they have in other London Boroughs. Makes sense to me eg:

https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/parking-transport-and-streets/parking-permits/motorcycle-parking

[kford]

Apart from the permit bit.

Mine's usually chained to the house via a ground anchor; never had a problem with it there. The anchors are pretty cheap and a really good chain is around ?50-150, which is much cheaper than the higher premiums after a theft.

[James Barber]

We've some spare ground anchors and free installation spare - so if anyone who lives in East Dulwich ward wants one installed in their front or back garden or side return please get in touch.

These spare ground anchors are in stock and the contractor are raring to install them - this is part of the East Dulwich ward Crime Prevention fund 10th year and still running.

[PeckhamRose]

Impressed! May ask if Nunhead and Peckham Rye ward have any!

[steveo]

Could I have a free garage please?

[James Barber]

Hi PeckhamRose,

Sadly councillors in those wards haven't set up such a fund - I did apply to do this in those wards after residents asked me to but a firm no.

Hi steveo,

Motorcycle theft costs the owner and our local community a lot of money. So if these anchors reduce bike theft it should be self funding releasing Police officer time as well for other harder to prevent crimes.

[LKR]

We can't get our bike in our front garden (without removing the wall). ground anchors in the road would be brilliant. be vigilant people.

[Caesi01]

Just to add more to this thread:

I had to scare off a group of 4 youths on 2 scooters from getting at my motorbike. They did not seem professionals but where equipped with a crow bar. that was around 2.30am back in October.

Anyone out there with Scooters/motorbikes/bicycles: invest in good locks. they are worth it. Thieves go for the easy targets. I tend to use oxford monster chains, oxford disc locks, Abus chain and a Abus D-lock.

I thought about CCTV, but then I read somewhere you are not allowed to direct the camera onto a public road. Hence not much point then IMO.

[rafcio123]

omg :o

[nunhead_man]

"read somewhere you are not allowed to direct the camera onto a public road"

Hmmmm - this is a bit old but may refer to the controlling case .........

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/aug/31/householders-cctv-public-highway-film

[Penguin68]

I think that a security system which over-wrote footage as part of the design (except where that footage was of a malefactor and was intentionally retained) would escape any censure - that is the effect of cameras used on cars to record journeys in case of incident. I do not believe that anyone should be discouraged from installing a camera security system (CCTV) which overlooks the areas outside their dwelling and which may additionally overlook public highways or footpaths. Nor do I believe that having such a system would require registration under the DPA.

The UK is the most heavily CCTV covered country (it is reported) - had this been a real issue we would have heard of it by now. Public use of footage gathered by a CCTV system, for instance by posting on the internet, may in the future be an issue, but I doubt it.

[Caesi01]

yes. that would make sense

[ianr]

There's an ECJ preliminary ruling in a recent case that possibly impacts on the DPA exemption. The following is from the ICO's "code of practice for surveillance cameras" of 21/5/2015, https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1542/cctv-code-of-practice.pdf (357kB).

"The use of surveillance systems for limited household purposes can be exempt from the DPA.

"The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its judgment in the case of Ryne? on 11 December 2014. In this judgment, the CJEU concluded that where a fixed surveillance camera faces outwards from an individual?s private domestic property and it captures images of individuals beyond the boundaries of their property, particularly where it monitors a public space, the recording cannot be considered as being for a purely personal or household purpose.

"This means that cameras attached to a private individual?s home may, in certain circumstances, no longer be exempt from the requirements of the DPA under section 36. Those circumstances are likely to include where the camera monitors any area beyond the interior and exterior limits of that individual?s home. This would include any camera to the extent that it covered, even partially, a public space such as the pavement or street. It would also cover cameras which captured areas such as neighbours? gardens.

"This decision does not mean that using such a camera is not possible but it does mean that individuals will have to ensure that its use is legitimate under the DPA. The CJEU made clear that use of cameras to protect a property in this way can meet the legitimate interest condition in the legislation. The ICO has produced a short complementary piece of guidance for the public on how to ensure the use of a surveillance camera on a private domestic property complies with the DPA."

What looks like the new guidance seems to be at https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/cctv/. Ryne?'s case arose as a result of his being fined for a DP breach after having taken his surveillance recording to the police to enable a prosecution http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/dec/11/home-surveillance-cctv-images-may-breach-data-protection-rules-european-court-judgment-says. But what might happen here, if a DP breach was alleged in similar circumstances, I don't know.

[rabbitears]

The legal risk of having a personal video camera pointed at your own car or bike is practically zero, surely?