Hi everyone,
Here is something that everyone on the forum can do.....and it's free (yippee)!!
Register your bike on http://www.immobilise.com which is a property registration website that is supported by most UK police forces.
When you visit the site you will be asked to enter your email address and confirm. You will then be asked how you heard of the website. If you are registering as a result of what I am posting, then please highlight 'Bristol Police'.
You will then be asked to add an inventory item and will be able to select a form for bikes. Complete the details including the frame number as an identifier. The more detail you add, the better. You can also add an image of your bike.
After you have registered your bike, keep an eye on your email account for an email confirming your login name and password (this may take as long as a few weeks). Don't forget to check your junk mail folder as the message may land in there.
Once you have your account details, you can log in to your account and add details of mobile phones, laptops and just about anything electrical which has a serial number.
If your bike (or other item) is lost or stolen, and comes into police possession, then it should be checked on a separate secure law enforcement database which is linked to immobilise. If it is on there, then your lost posseion can be returned to you.
Furthermore, if the check is done on the street whilst in the clutches of a criminal, they can be arrested and hopefully charged with theft (hurrah)!
The effectiveness of this system relies upon people registering their belongings on immobilise - so the more of you that take advantage of this, the better.
There is nothing more frustrating than stopping some one on a bike that you know is stolen (copper's instinct), and having to let them and the bike go, because you can't prove that it's not their bike.
"Aha PC Frank" I hear you cry "What if I register my bike, and the so-and-so who steals it grinds off the frame number"?
Many bike theives are so brazen that they don't bother to conceal the identity of the bike. Also, if you explore the immobilise website, you will find a product which helps to negate this.
Stay safe and vigilant,
PC Frank
