What to do if a bike is stolen?

Bicycle theft can happen anywhere: in an entrance or in a crowded parking lot. If a thief decides to steal, locks and alarms will not become an obstacle for him. What if the theft has occurred and is there a chance to get your favorite bike back?

Unfortunately, there are vehicle thefts, but it is bicycles that are less protected legally. There is no special article in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for the theft of a bike. Liability can be attributed to Articles 7.27; 158; 161 and 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provide for punishment for petty theft of property worth more than 2,500 rubles, robbery or robbery. Punishments for such crimes are administrative or criminal, it all depends on the size of the amount at which the bicycle is estimated, and the actions of the offenders themselves:

• stole a bike without the knowledge of the owner - theft;
• took away by force - robbery;
• if during the robbery the victim was injured - robbery.

In order for an expert to determine the value of the stolen one, it is necessary to provide documents confirming the market and official price of the bike at the time of the theft, as well as a receipt confirming the original purchase amount. To understand the difference in responsibility for such a crime, you need to know how theft differs from theft:

• purpose of theft - to take possession of someone else's vehicle without the consent of the owner;
• purpose of theft - to take possession and resell the bike for profit.

Based on the qualification of the crime and the bike's value assessed by an expert, the offender may face the following penalties.

1. If the cost of the bike does not exceed 1000 rubles, according to article 7.27, the fine can range from 100 rubles to the amount of five values ​​of the vehicle. Or the kidnapper is threatened with detention from 10 to 15 days, forced labor is possible.
2. If the damage is estimated from 1,000 to 2,500 thousand rubles, the punishment can be in the form of a fine from 3000 rubles to 5 times the value of stolen goods, arrest up to 15 days or 120 hours of community service.
3. With the amount of stolen goods exceeding 2,500 thousand rubles, may face criminal liability (Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and the actual term of imprisonment (depending on the circumstances) from 2 years or more. The penalties are as follows:
   • a fine in the amount of six months' salary, or up to 80 thousand rubles;
   • community service up to 350 hours;
   • arrest (detention for 4 months);
   • imprisonment for up to 2 years.

Aggravating factors are considered to be the theft of vehicles for an amount exceeding 5,000 rubles by an organized group by conspiracy, with penetration into the dwelling. In such cases, the penalties are tougher:

• the fine can be 200,000 rubles;
• forced labor - 450 hours;
• depending on various reinforcing factors, the sentence can be up to 5 years in prison.

In most cases, bicycles are stolen from entrances and hallways, many of which the owners do not even fasten with ropes, naively believing that a public door with a lock or intercom will be able to protect him. In second place is theft in crowded places, in parking lots, at supermarkets. The perpetrator simply cuts off the cable from the lock. There are cases of theft from garages, basements, balconies. Sometimes violators aggressively, against the will of the owners, take the bike “for a ride” and do not return it. If the owner cannot find the bike at the place where he left it, you must immediately call the police. 90% of all crimes are solved "hot on the trail."

Before the arrival of the police, you can do the following.

1. Interview passers-by, perhaps someone noticed in which direction the cyclist moved and what he looked like. If eyewitnesses are found, you should take their coordinates, they may be needed for further legal action.
2. To inspect the place of theft, the thief could drop receipts, tickets, personal items that would help to get on the trail of the criminal.
3. Next, you need to pay attention to the cars parked around, identify those that are being recorded from the DVRs, wait for the owners of the cars and view the recorded material with them. If the owners are absent for a long time, you can try to leave a note with your phone number and a description of the situation.
4. Inspect nearby buildings and other objects on which video cameras may be located. Subsequently, you can find out who they belong to and persuade the owners to show the filmed material. Worse, if the cameras belong to municipal organizations, you will need a special permit to view them, and this will take a lot of time.

A bike stolen from the entrance is more difficult to find, the yards are sparsely populated and are rarely equipped with video surveillance cameras. But the search should still be carried out according to the above scheme. To facilitate the search for the missing vehicle, you need to try to provide the police with as much information about it as possible: purchase receipt, passport, frame number, photographs, if any.

When filing a report with the police about the theft of a bicycle, many do not believe that it will be found, but it still needs to be done. If an independent search yields a result, the presence of a statement and other legal documents will help to confiscate the bike from the criminal. The most difficult thing when submitting an application is to persuade the police station to accept it. Employees will refer to the low importance of the problem and the high workload. But you have to be persistent refer to the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia from O1. О3.2012 № 140, present yourself as an informed person, ready to fight for your rights.

You can write down the name of the person on duty who refuses to accept the application, threaten him with a complaint. If denied again, an application should be sent by mail, with an inventory and notification. At the station, all letters are registered and it will no longer be possible to change anything. You can find a sample application on the Internet, or get a form from the police station. The documents are drawn up as follows: in the left corner a "header" is drawn up, where the name of the site name and the data of the chief are indicated. The name of the document is written in the center. Further reported:

• a full description of the stolen bike with documents and photographs attached;
• describes the circumstances under which he was abducted;
• the time when the crimes were committed and the address where everything happened;
• eyewitness accounts with their contact details;
• at the end a number and a signature are put down.

Not so long ago, a newspaper reported that it was missing. Today, the availability of the Internet makes it possible to convey information about the theft of a bicycle to everyone. You can use the following resources:

• bases that accumulate information about the theft and tracing of bikes ("Velo hijacking", "Velo search");
• social networks;
• thematic sites (cycle clubs, forums, announcements).

In the information provided, you need to clearly describe the incident, indicate the place and time, add photos and, if there is video from surveillance cameras, use the fragments in which the hijacker is most clearly visible. The material should be laconic, but at the same time capacious, contain all the necessary information. Too long texts are not read to the end, so you should not overload them with emotions and unnecessary details.

According to statistics, bicycle thefts have become more frequent, because they are the most affordable vehicles for hijacking. Owners often by their naivety and irresponsibility themselves provoke offenders to hijack. They leave the bikes "for a minute", which is enough to say goodbye to their property. In the legislation of the Russian Federation, although indirect, there are articles with the help of which one can be held liable for theft of a bicycle. But in fact, this happens extremely rarely.

It turns out that "the rescue of drowning people is the work of the drowning people themselves." Looking through advertisements for the sale of used bicycles and visiting such markets, you can stumble upon a missing bike and, perpetrating violence, take away your property. But then the victim becomes the criminal. In such a case, it is better to contact the police and, relying on a previously left statement, insist on the seizure of the vehicle. It is sad that stolen bicycles are sold quite easily. They are bought by advertisements for a quarter of the original cost, which is what thieves use.

Criminals can take a liking to any bike, from children's or old Soviet ones to expensive sports equipment. But preference is given to mountain bikes costing 20-30 thousand rubles, for them you can easily help out from 5 to 10 thousand rubles. The victims themselves behave incorrectly, contact the police too late, and the easiest way to find a bicycle is in the first hours after the theft.

For information on what to do if a bike is stolen, see the next video.