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In the Netherlands, the police will put out "trap" bikes, and wait for you to buy it from a homeless person. Then they'll swoop down on you and charge you with

In the Netherlands, the police will put out "trap" bikes, and wait for you to buy it from a homeless person. Then they'll swoop down on you and charge you with something like conversion.

DoingIsLearning 6y ago
Wait is this serious? I mean second hand bicycles are a big market in the Netherlands, what kind of checks should you go through to make sure a private bicycle seller is legitimate. I mean if you are buying a banged up 'stationfiets' just to commute is there really a way to know?
- jsiepkes 6y ago
  > what kind of checks should you go through to make sure a private bicycle seller is legitimate. If you can reasonably know something is stolen you are liable under Dutch law. That applies to everything, not just bikes. Buying a new ATB for 50 Euro would be such a thing where you can reasonably know it was stolen.
- Daho0n 6y ago
  Look up the VIN.
  - 2rsf 6y ago
    and do what with it? is there a central register of owner per vin? list of stolen vins?
    - oneplane 6y ago
      Yes, there is https://www.rdw.nl/particulier/voertuigen/fiets/controleren-of-een-fiets-gestolen-is/het-fietsdiefstalregister https://www.rdw.nl/particulier/voertuigen/fiets/controleren-... Actual lookup interface here: https://fdr.rdw.nl https://fdr.rdw.nl Also, knowing that a bike should have an ID or a working tracer chip and seeing it missing is enough of a reason not to buy it, or knowing that if you buy it anyway you're on the hook for it.
mrweasel 6y ago
I don't think that's legal in Denmark. The police aren't allow to set traps that would make you break the law. Maybe it would accepted, because you where going to buy a stolen bike anyway... I'm not sure. Mostly I think bikes stolen in Denmark end up in Eastern Europe anyway.
- rootusrootus 6y ago
  I doubt there's any place in the world that considers a simple bait bike as anything like entrapment. The police haven't done anything to even tempt you to break the law, and actual entrapment would require that they actively coerced you to break the law when you otherwise wouldn't. Unless you mean the 'buying from a homeless person' part. Receiving stolen goods, would probably come down to if the jury or judge believed your claims that you had every reason to expect that the homeless guy really did own a $3K bike they wanted to sell.
- eythian 6y ago
  It's not entrapment as you're still doing something illegal - buying a clearly stolen bike, and they're not enticing you into it.
pmontra 6y ago
Do they also go after the thief?
- eythian 6y ago
  Not as far as I know - they maybe do this using other methods. But they're trying to remove the market of people buying them, therefore reducing the motivation to steal them.

In the Netherlands, the police will put out "trap" bikes, and wait for you to buy it from a homeless person. Then they'll swoop down on you and charge you with something like conversion.

DoingIsLearning 6y ago

Wait is this serious? I mean second hand bicycles are a big market in the Netherlands, what kind of checks should you go through to make sure a private bicycle seller is legitimate. I mean if you are buying a banged up 'stationfiets' just to commute is there really a way to know?

jsiepkes 6y ago
> what kind of checks should you go through to make sure a private bicycle seller is legitimate. If you can reasonably know something is stolen you are liable under Dutch law. That applies to everything, not just bikes. Buying a new ATB for 50 Euro would be such a thing where you can reasonably know it was stolen.
Daho0n 6y ago
Look up the VIN.
- 2rsf 6y ago
  and do what with it? is there a central register of owner per vin? list of stolen vins?
  - oneplane 6y ago
    Yes, there is https://www.rdw.nl/particulier/voertuigen/fiets/controleren-of-een-fiets-gestolen-is/het-fietsdiefstalregister https://www.rdw.nl/particulier/voertuigen/fiets/controleren-... Actual lookup interface here: https://fdr.rdw.nl https://fdr.rdw.nl Also, knowing that a bike should have an ID or a working tracer chip and seeing it missing is enough of a reason not to buy it, or knowing that if you buy it anyway you're on the hook for it.

mrweasel 6y ago

I don't think that's legal in Denmark. The police aren't allow to set traps that would make you break the law. Maybe it would accepted, because you where going to buy a stolen bike anyway... I'm not sure. Mostly I think bikes stolen in Denmark end up in Eastern Europe anyway.

rootusrootus 6y ago
I doubt there's any place in the world that considers a simple bait bike as anything like entrapment. The police haven't done anything to even tempt you to break the law, and actual entrapment would require that they actively coerced you to break the law when you otherwise wouldn't. Unless you mean the 'buying from a homeless person' part. Receiving stolen goods, would probably come down to if the jury or judge believed your claims that you had every reason to expect that the homeless guy really did own a $3K bike they wanted to sell.
eythian 6y ago
It's not entrapment as you're still doing something illegal - buying a clearly stolen bike, and they're not enticing you into it.

pmontra 6y ago

Do they also go after the thief?

eythian 6y ago
Not as far as I know - they maybe do this using other methods. But they're trying to remove the market of people buying them, therefore reducing the motivation to steal them.