Stealing a bike four different ways – and only one helpful citizen says anything…
Oh yeah, and plenty of help from the police.
It looks a lot like the Bystander Effect in action.
[via cycling shots]
Update 7 August
Thanks to kimbofo for pointing out, which demonstrates that Londoners are just as happy to walk past a bloke working the hacksaw on a bike lock. (Frankly, I think it's universal.">Channel 4
This film was obviously made to be one of those "light" end-of-the-news stories, but I'm not sure Dominic Waugh necessarily sees it that way:
"But if you stopped nicking my bike and if everyone else paid attention to what's going on then we'd have more time for news stories about stranded cats…"
Comments
I wonder if the response would have been different if, instead of varying the method of theft, the person was varied. I hate to say, but I imaging different races and ages would attract different responses from passers by.
The bystander effect, therefore, would be a different outcome - especially given the response of the helpful last bloke.
There are actually some pretty interesting concepts in social psychology at play here. If it is the Bystander Effect, then people are probably thinking something like "That poor bastard's lost his keys, but it looks like he's got it sorted." Or alternatively, "There's someone's bike being stolen but I'm sure someone else has already called the police." Or even, "There's someone's bike being stolen but look at the size of that dude and he's got a fuckin' hammer!"
I think for most people it's more likely to be the first rationalisation: we just don't expect thieves to be so brazen as to put on eye protection and plug-in an angle grinder or cut a chain with bolt-cutters—right there in a busy street in broad daylight—so we naturally assume that it's someone reclaiming their property. I've never been to New York City, but a friend who has was a little bit more cynical, telling me that you just don't even look sideways at strangers in some parts of that town.
Peter is right. The bloke in the video looks like he could look after himself on the streets, especially armed with bolt-cutters or a hammer, so only the most suicidally-inclined bystander is going to directly intervene. But a scrawny 13-year old Hispanic kid with a hacksaw? Well, more people might fancy their chances of not getting dead from stepping-in.
But I don't think science was the purpose of this video, rather it was simply to demonstrate how laughingly easy it is to swipe a bike in a big city.
Channel 4 here in the UK screened something similar on TV earlier this week. If I can dig out the link I'll let you know.
The thing is, if you see someone fiddling with a bike lock how do you know it's not actually their bike and they simply lost the key?
I've a suggestion for how to check if someone is freeing their own property or liberating someone else's: say loudly "Oi! That's my bike!" and see how they respond. Do they look shifty or even take off? Or do they turn around and say, "No it bloody isn't!"
Ah, I don't think that's actually a foolproof plan but I'll have to try it out if I ever see someone using long-handled padlock keys in public…
As for Channel 4, chould this be the film that kimbofo is talking about?
Great idea! I actually think that one might work... unless they're wielding some huge implement they can use to bash my head in.
And yes, that's the film. I thought it was quite good, as I recently parked my bike behind the London Wheel and returned to find my water bottle had been nicked. Guess I was lucky it wasn't the entire bike!
Yeah, the physical threat thing was one of the reasons why I thought it might not be a foolproof approach. But the good thing is that shouting still works from the other side of the street or a first floor window – without undue risk of having your head rearranged.
I recently tried the 'Oi that's my bike' approach. A) because it was my bike being nicked. B) because the theiving scum involved were 16yo schoolkids - 3 of them, in school uniform, or bits of them any way. C) This was in a repectable part of town, and other people were about.
The result: I was bashed unconscious and left with a couple of fractures in my spine. I'm told I'm lucky to be able to walk.
And the bystanders? No-one intervened. I've been told since that one 'phoned the police. I ended up on the road, unable to move below the neck due the shock to my spine, and a car was driven around me, and continued on.
If no-one cares about a person being beaten unconscious, why would they care about someone else's bike?
The only way to keep your bike is to be riding it - fast.
...Where was this, Paul?
Wow.
...Are you okay now?
--Benji
A cautionary tale indeed. Clearly threat of physical injury is a serious—and potentially fatal—flaw in the "Oi! That's my bike!" approach. Clearly this should only be tried if you've got a clear and viable escape route, especially if you're outnumbered!
That is a seriously nasty incident and it sounds like pure chance that we didn't hear about a bashing murder in the streets…
To follow up and reply to the last two posts:
This occurred in Golden Grove (Northeastern Adelaide)
I'm (Mostly) OK now, and will return to work tomorrow after a month off. This will be on modified duties because until the spine is finished healing I can't lift or adopt unusual physical positions. I'm a Paramedic, so those are important. Instead I'm going to be employed in a training role for a while. Just lucky I have an understanding employer.
I agree about the clear escape route and being outnumbered bit. I guess I was a bit naive to think that because of the public location and general appearance of the thieves, the threat of physical harm was minimal. I figured, quite wrongly, they would most likely drop the bike and run.
There is a little more to the story too. The bike was taken from directly outside the open front door of my house, moments before I was going to ride it. I stumbled across the thieves en-route to the Police station to report the theft (they hadn't gone far). There was nothing aggressive in my approach, so I guess there was some degree of caution about me. I did get the bike back - someone else (in fact my own wife) spotted and chased by car one of the individuals riding it only a minute later, and he left the bike and escaped on foot. The timer on my bike computer showed they travelled 1.1km, and had the bike in motion for 10.5 minutes. It was only 8 weeks old and as new - they damaged the saddle, completely ruined the carbon fibre seat post by only partly loosening it and lowering it all the way, ripped the handlebar ribbon, and put large lateral wobbles in both rims. And discarded my seat pack with a multitude of tools/ tube etc. So add 50 to the physical injuries.
Best news though: After replacing/ repairing the damage I started some short, gentle riding again this week, and this has been psychologically uplifting. A regular cyclist who can't ride is like a grizzly bear with a headache! Can't believe how much my body hurt after only 20km though.
BTW - With the current state of our legal sysyem I don't expect the police to find, or the courts to convict anyone, but at least they've taken it seriously enough to televise what they know on Crimestoppers, along with a very clear video of 'persons of interest' who were seen leaving the scene. Makes me feel a bit better :-)
Thanks treadly, love the blog.
That's really good news that Paul is back in the saddle and on his own bike—no matter how painful a short, gentle trundle may be!
I'd expect a handful of smart alec kids would just drop a bike and run when challenged but there you go: a real warning.
As a Paramedic, Paul probably has a more realistic view on this than I, but I'd have thought that the police would take an assault causing actual bodily harm somewhat more seriously than a mere theft of property. Those nasty little shits sound like a right charming bunch of thugs—beating the shit out of someone over a bloody bike! That borders on the dangerously psychotic if you ask me. Hopefully, against all probability, the little bastards will get what they deserve.
No idea! I suggest you contact the Neistat Brothers, who made the film.
What is the opening track of this video? I must have it!