From the Sheffield West NHP Facebook page

(The story has also been picked up in the Sheffield Star)

BIKE SHED THEFTS IN HILLSBOROUGH AREA.

Please make sure your shed security is in place. It may be worth installing a shed alarm and additional padlock and chain.

Thefts of pedal cycles have occured overnight on 22nd March into 23rd March on Kendal Road, Chiltern Road, Portsea Road and Dykes Hall Road.

All in close proximity to each other.

Been happening in crookes for months.

Perhaps if they stopped being private security for Spanish multinational companies they’d have time to actually tackle crime.

Lot easier to arrest an elderly lady with a pink recorder than a tooled up bike thief.

Or to call social services because “a minor” is on the streets in school hours “obstructing” arborists

It freaks me out a bit. You see stolen bikes every other day on Facebook and they’re not just being grabbed from sheds. Some have been taken from bedrooms and cellars.

I can’t use ground anchors in my rented garage and it’s quite far from the house. If anyone got in they could work uninterrupted. The best I can do is a couple of gold rated D locks and a motorbike chain through a massive kettlebell.

Been happening in crookes for months

It’s not just Crookes – it’s a big chunk of West Sheffield

Some have been taken from bedrooms and cellars

Very true – keeping your bike indoors isn’t a deterrent for these ***ts. There’s a least two of them, They are big, tooled up, they must have a van and plenty of storage (or a quick distribution network) for all the bikes that have been stolen recently, They know the local Police will do little or nothing and they frequently strike on Thursday evenings …

But yeah – SYP seem to be otherwise engaged arresting residents armed with cameras and a pink recorder etc!

The best I can do is a couple of gold rated D locks and a motorbike chain through a massive kettlebell

They are carrying bolt-cutters and pretty powerful portable angle-grinders – multiple big chains and alarms are needed!

I was advised by SYP not to install razor-wire … which is a shame as I would love to see these thieving ***ts cut to ribbons …

Not just Sheffield. From personal experience the Police in general (although there is the odd exception it has to be said) don’t give a flying about bike theft.

How would they know if you installed razor wire? They’re not going to come around after a theft.

isnt it an offence to install razor wire?

Isn’t in an offence to steal bicycles?

Actually, installing razor wire is fine. You just need suitable warning signs so that an intruder has the option to not hurt themselves.

Get some shotgun alarm mines, scare the shit out of them.

The best I can do is a couple of gold rated D locks and a motorbike chain through a massive kettlebell.

Get a big container and fill it with concrete. Set an anchor in it before it hardens for something to lock a chain through.

isnt it an offence to install razor wire?

At least there will be a better chance of the police visiting.

Not just Sheffield. From personal experience the Police in general (although there is the odd exception it has to be said) don’t give a flying about bike theft.

Unlike most places Sheffield has probably the highest concentration of mountain bikers with high end kit anywhere in the UK and the thieves obviously know exactly what they’re looking for.

They are carrying bolt-cutters and pretty powerful portable angle-grinders – multiple big chains and alarms are needed!

Don’t remind me! I can only do so much. Any more locks and chains and I won’t be able to get them out myself.

Get some shotgun alarm mines, scare the shit out of them.

Definitely happening when I get my own place. Right now it would give my frail old landlord heart failure.

isnt it an offence to install razor wire?

No it isn’t. However, because it can cause much worse injuries than barbed wire, it should not be used where someone could relatively easily come into contact with it accidentally, and nor should it be installed as part of a hidden ‘trap’.

This means that where it is used at the boundary of your property, it should only be used well above head height on top of a fence or wall – or behind the fence – so that someone is not going to come into contact with it if they should brush past the fence or stumble against it.

It also means that where it is used that standard warning signs like the one below should be prominently displayed. It’s primary function should be to deter intruders from attempting to break in, not to surprise them and injure them if they attempt to do so.

Following the above precautions should protect against any civil liability claims for injury from the fence, whether to passers by or trespassers/thieves.

Thing is, even with locks and anchors, we’ve all seen pics of people cutting through a frame as it’s quicker and there’s enough value in the parts to sacrifice the frame and it still be worth it.

You just need suitable warning signs so that an intruder has the option to not hurt themselves

Not illegal to buy it (I got 15m from Amazon) or to install it. Just that the police ‘advise’ against it – not because of injuring the bike thieves, but more to do with neighbours, workmen, contractors, children etc who may inadvertently come into contact with it – and the mess it can make of them! The Police advise alternative deterrents for top of walls and fences etc. I still might install some razor wire however. Haven’t quite made my mind up yet

Get some shotgun alarm mines, scare the shit out of them

Police apparently quite happy about shotgun mines.

Unlike most places Sheffield has probably the highest concentration of mountain bikers with high end kit anywhere in the UK and the thieves obviously know exactly what they’re looking for.

^^ Pretty much this … They aren’t just driving around West Sheffield randomly trying their luck … they clearly have a list of objectives and targets. The fact that they targeted 4 streets all in close proximity in one night says to me that they are pretty thorough and organised.

we’ve all seen pics of people cutting through a frame as it’s quicker and there’s enough value in the parts to sacrifice the frame and it still be worth it.

In Sheffield, the scrotes apparently just strip bikes of all components seemingly in full public view – someone unfortunately had their road bike stripped of components during SHAFF – they just left the frame locked up …

We were broken into last weekend, & bike taken from hallway, been checking the local FB groups buy and sell and far more people posting bikes stolen than actually advertising for sale.

13 were taken from 1 estate on Thursday night apparently.

They also took our car & police have trratre bike as an afterthought, even though therrst not much difference in price!

In mk

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2321456/cyclists-milton-keynes-bike-pinches-safe-town/

Get a big container and fill it with concrete. Set an anchor in it before it hardens for something to lock a chain through

Trust me … the portable angle-grinders these ***ts are tooled up with will go through pretty much any chain in less than a couple of minutes. What you can do is make it harder for them by installing alarms and multiple locks and multiple chains – which mean more time and battery power for them to cut through.

A word of caution though … make the shed/outbuilding/house door too secure and they will go for the next easy option, whether that’s a window or the roof. Try and reduce the amount of ‘dark’ areas on your property where they can ‘work’ undisturbed.

as for razor wire, its horrendous to animals and strangers to your property, installed at a local takeaway a few years ago after they had a lot of cash stolen , they climbed up onto the vent pipe from the friers and forced a window, a few days later ad the owner on the phone telling us to take it down, as he had had the fire brigade, local council and police all around to say it was dangerous in case of a fire etc, had to pull it down not easy as its very sharp, welders gloves work ok to stop getting cut, safety glasses and long sleeves a few layers or an old coat to protect you.

After we found out, that thieves use either an old coat or carpet to push razor wire away.

‘Been happening in crookes for months.

Perhaps if they stopped being private security for Spanish multinational companies they’d have time to actually tackle crime.‘

Perhaps if supposedly ‘law abiding’ tree protesters started to abide by the law then the police officers drafted in to uphold the law could go back to tackling ‘real’ crime?

Blowing a plastic trumpet against the law now is it? I’ll tell the guys stabbing people up far side of the wicker they need to up their game.

Well if you are up on your law you could argue it was, in certain circumstances. Do you think South Yorkshire Police want to be spending thousands of pounds maintaining law and order at what should be  peaceful protests, as per peoples rights? I can tell you that they don’t but when court orders are in place then it is partly the role of the police to make sure the court orders are obeyed. Maybe you should read the Chief Constables reply to Lord Scrivens questions surrounding the tree felling. The police are there to maintain law and order, nothing else.

The police are there to maintain law and order, nothing else.

Dream on. Time and time again the police in this country act on behalf of large corporations in the name of protecting their profit over maintaining law and order or protecting freedoms and rights of ordinary people.

If you think things are bad now just wait till April when 15 billion of Tory benefit cuts kick in.Your in for the shock of your lives.

Agreed monkeymonkey

‘Dream on. Time and time again the police in this country act on behalf of large corporations in the name of protecting their profit over maintaining law and order or protecting freedoms and rights of ordinary people.’

Really? You must have lots of inside knowledge then because I have 14 years in the job, all on response teams in Sheffield. It is not the informed knowledge I am privy to on a daily basis. But hey ho, there are plenty of key board warriors that think they know everything about the police service when in reality they haven’t got a clue.

Take your rose tinted specs of then and take a proper look around you.

Ha ha. Rose tinted specs! They were binned 13 years and 8 months ago. People on the outside have no idea.

It’s easy to Bobby bash though isn’t it. Until you need one.

Like today. One officer in hospital with serious injuries, tackling someone armed with a sword. Or the French officer a few days ago, taking the place of hostages and losing his life as a result.

Anyway back to the point of this thread. There are scumbags in Sheffield, like most towns and cities, that won’t think twice about breaking into your shed, garage or house to steal your pride and joy. Do everything you can to deter them from trying in the first place. Personally I’d be reluctant to store a decent bike in a shed in the first place but I appreciate some have no choice. In terms of policing Hillsborough and similar areas of Sheffield it is difficult to be proactive and not just reactive when you are going from job to job to job. Being a mountain biker myself I will try my best when I do get any free time to patrol these areas and keep a look out for scroats (my personal choice of reference not SYPs!) riding decent bikes.

It’s easy to Bobby bash though isn’t it. Until you need one.

I’ve had a lifetime of dissapointing encounters with the police. I’ve only ever bashed my own boaby as well.

Like today. One officer in hospital with serious injuries, tackling someone armed with a sword. Or the French officer a few days ago, taking the place of hostages and losing his life as a result.

erm..neither of which were related to protests about tree removal…

Personally I’d be reluctant to store a decent bike in a shed in the first place

See above it does not matter if it’s in your shed, celler or livingroom unfortunately there had been cases or robberies from all 3 recently.

Personally I’d be reluctant to store a decent bike in my house in the first place as I have a young family that are much more important than my bike.

There are loads of pretty cheap, battery run/backed up, paging etc alarm systems around. Not necessarily for sheds but readily adaptable.

You can get all the above in a car alarm, hide the battery backed up siren somewhere out the way,armoured as much as you can and it will make a hell of a lot of nice in a small shed and in your house. While they are trying to get to that, they aren’t hacking are at bike chains….. Add a pager into the mix and you have a pretty good early warning/ deterrent set up.

I’ve done the above in a shed before. Used an Avital alarm from memory. Battery backed up, pager remote, you name it. Was about £80 off eBay plus a 12v power supply. You need mains per in the shed but others will run on battery with lesser functions.

Just an option anyway guys…

Here’s another option. I’ve just written to my local councillors and MP asking why the police – and they – have failed to prevent this so far, and what they will be doing as a matter of urgency.

It’s dead easy and I’d suggest you do the same (please and thank you 🙂 ):

https://www.writetothem.com/

Sheffield does seem to be the UK epicentre for bike thefts, has been for a few years now.

Finbar, written to my MP and councillors a number of times for a number of different reasons. Haven’t received anything but generic “we’ll look into it” replies from any of them and that’s just the ones that could be bothered.

With all due respect, I’d imagine bike thefts are way down a very long list of issues for both Police and Parliamentarians.

As per the previous thread on this matter, I agree bike thefts are low down on a stretched budget but A, these aren’t just basic thefts, they are seriously tooled up individuals willing to break into occupied houses to get what they want and B, the police have shown they are more than happy to turn up to other stuff that should be low down on lists.