According to www.SeattleCrime.com, Seattle Police found 5 bikes in a north Seattle storage unit belonging to a man who is known to be "actively involved in the 'chopping' and reselling of stolen bicycles.” Police had been told that the man is the “go to guy” for bike thieves to sell their stolen bikes. The man had not been charged with a crime as of August 3rd.
Now, you might think it odd that police apparently have caught a thief red handed with stolen material but they do not charge him. The problem is that police need to be able to prove that items in possession of a thief (or anyone else) are indeed stolen. They often run into situations where they are sure that items in the possession of a suspect are stolen, but if they do not have definitive descriptions of stolen material they cannot charge the suspect or seize the items. It is a frustrating situation not only for victims but also for police.
Operation ID. By identifying your possessions, you can help the police if your house, or your car, is broken into by a burglar. With clear descriptions of items that have been stolen (pictures, serial numbers, state driver’s license numbers marked on the item as appropriate) then detectives can have an easier time to identify and recover your stolen possessions.
For more information about Operation ID take a look at this Tip Sheet:
http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/Operation%20ID.pdf
For more information about details of the bike theft incident go to:
http://seattlecrime.com/2011/08/03/the-morning-blotter-cops-find-stolen-bikes-in-prolific-thiefs-north-seattle-storage-unit
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