How And Where To Register Your Bike In The Bay Area

Hi there - I'm sorry your wheel was stolen! Don't despair though - many great people are working to fight wheel theft in the Bay Area, and a whole customs here ready to help you endeavor and recover your bike.

Right now, though, there are several things you need to exercise. I'll walk you lot through each one here:

File a constabulary report
Annals with Bike Index
Spread the give-and-take!
Look for your bike 'in the wild'
Watch for your bicycle being sold online

Start: File a police report.

Yes, y'all should file a law written report for your stolen bike - especially if your bike was taken in a robbery, a home or business concern intermission-in, or a smash-and-grab from a vehicle or a shop. And then: call your local police - perhaps kickoff with the non-emergency line if information technology has been a while since your theft - and follow their instructions. If you happen to have surveillance of your theft, mention that likewise.

You may wind upward being told to report your bike theft with the police'southward online reporting organization - which is not great, but however OK. Virtually police departments don't have enough officers to bargain with bike thefts in person unless they are function of a more serious crime (again, run into above) - simply written report your stolen bike nonetheless, fifty-fifty if it is online only. Doing so volition get you a police report number - which you will need in a moment.

If it's going to be a while before you become your law report number, get ahead and skip ahead to the next step -- i.e., go information technology listed on Wheel Index.

Next: Register with Cycle Index!

Now you should register your stolen bike with Bike Index, so we can help spread the discussion! Listing your stolen bike with the Bike Alphabetize is gratuitous, fast, and information technology quickly gets your stolen bike information out to the shops, riders, constabulary enforcement, and other Bike Alphabetize partners who look for stolen bikes - even if that bike crosses land lines.

If your wheel is already in the Bike Index, all you have to practise is log in, click "edit" on that bike, and click "Report stolen."

If your wheel is not already in the Cycle Alphabetize, assemble as much of this info before you start:

the serial number - If you don't accept your bike's serial number, bank check your purchase documentation or call the shop where you bought it
a police force report number - Hopefully you have this from the step #one
photos of your bike - If you don't have whatever photos, even a stock photo of a similar bike is OK
good descriptions - Include descriptions whatever unique components, stickers, dents or details that help identify your cycle

Gather whatever video surveillance! - if in that location's video of your theft, effort and go a copy! Post information technology to Youtube, and include that Youtube link in your listing. Don't forget: your neighbors/nearby businesses may have cameras that defenseless your theft, even if you don't accept any cameras of your ain. So inquire around. </ul> </p>
Once you take as much of the above as y'all can get, but click here, register, and log in to list your stolen wheel(due south). Once they are registered, they'll exist auto-tweeted out via our Bay Surface area stolen bicycle Twitter feeds (come across beneath) - and the bicycle's info volition be bachelor to all our area partners.
Spread the give-and-take!
Finding stolen bikes is a game of numbers - the more people you accept looking out for your cycle, the meliorate. And then: you're going to accept to spread the word! Tell everybody y'all know virtually your stolen wheel . If yous're in an apartment building, post a flier. If someone stole your bike from a business concern, warning the building management. And of course, you lot'll want to hit all the pop online methods, because Craigslist isn't the only place thieves sell stolen bikes online anymore.

Twitter - We run a number of Bay Surface area twitter feeds, and so if you're on Twitter, definitely tweet your stolen wheel and tag i or more of @stolenbikessfo (SF) @stolenbikesmarin (Marin County) @stolenbikesbrk (Berkeley) @stolenbikesoak (Oakland) or @stolenbikessan (San Jose).

Facebook - Facebook is a adept next step. Post your bike, mention all the specifics, link its BikeIndex list, and maybe get information technology out to some of the local SF biking FB Groups similar 'San Francisco Bike Ride Crew.' If it'southward a specialty bike, similar a cargo bike, yous may look for specialty bike groups like 'San Francisco Family Biking' which has a lot of cargo bicycle owners in it.

Instagram - Bay Area stolen bikes Instagram is a cracking resource - so if you lot're on Instagram, post your bicycle, mention the brand, model, specific metropolis you're in and then tag @bikeindex so we can regram it

Reddit - we run into stolen bike posts on Reddit all the time, and there'south a lot of eyeballs at that place, too. So - if you're a Redditor, /r/sanfrancisco and /r/bayarea may be a good place to start.

Nextdoor - even though Nextdoor is a 'closed' system, so to speak, there's still a lot of local eyeballs there. And so it'due south worth posting your stolen cycle's BikeIndex list to Nextdoor.

SF area bike anti-theft ninja @plattyjo also runs a Google Group for Bay Surface area stolen bikes, and her Facebook is as well a nexus of anti-theft folks in the Bay.
Look for your bike 'in the wild'
It doesn't hurt to just cruise around your neighborhood and expect for your bicycle 'in the wild.' A number of SF area theft victims take spotted their bikes being ridden around their same neighborhood days later on. Laney and Ashby Flea Markets are often places where stolen bikes show up, so consider hunting at that place, besides.

SF has no shortage of local outdoor neighborhood 'chop shops' that are highly visible - and the source of many recoveries. Twitter user @SFbikebandits does a lot of spotting in these areas, so perhaps give them a follow.
Proceed an heart out for it online
A huge, huge amount of stolen bikes are fenced online, but it'southward non just Craigslist you lot have to deal with anymore. Now, there'south many outlets you volition need to monitor:
- Offerup - a chronically terrible service full of stolen bikes. This is the starting time place you should go to look for your stolen bike - or stolen anything, for that affair.
- Letgo - similar to Offerup, same idea
- Facebook market place - not every bit pop with thieves yet, but growing
Make it a habit to check for your bike on these sites every mean solar day, for many weeks - fifty-fifty months, if you lot tin can. We've seen thieves steal bikes and stash them in storage for months to let them 'cool off' earlier listing them for sale online. So be set up to play the 'long game' if you're serious about hunting down your stolen wheel.

If you exercise detect your bike for sale on Craigslist, LetGo, or Offerup - get in touch with the police, and skip contacting the online site because none of these services are ever going to help you. Don't waste your fourth dimension engaging with these sites unless y'all enjoy Kafka-esque discussions with unhelpful people who will do zilch simply send yous form letters and/or ignore you. Chasing your cycle with your local police instead is the way to become.

You can always e-mail contact@bikeindex.org if y'all need some tips for dealing with online sellers who may have your cycle.

Some final notes: I've been working on the bike theft problem since the mid-90'south - basically trying to interconnect bicycle theft victims with people most probable to recover stolen bikes — i.e., shops, other bikers, schools, police departments, etc. I've plant that by giving everybody access to the information they need, this model works - you wouldn't believe some of our recoveries! The more people know about BikeIndex, though, the better it works. So: I'd hugely appreciate a link, a retweet, or just you letting a local bike shop know near bikeindex.org.

And PS - if you think there'south anything I've left out of this listing, let me know! Driblet me an email at bryan@bikeindex.org