4 ms·
I did not hear about VanMoof earlier but my buddy called police (Amsterdam area of course) once when he found his bike and he wanted to be good citizen so he di
by ozim 4y ago
I did not hear about VanMoof earlier but my buddy called police (Amsterdam area of course) once when he found his bike and he wanted to be good citizen so he did not want to just steal it back from some backyard.
Well police helped him recover the bike without arresting anyone and told him next time he should just steal it back and don't bother them.
- BonoboIO 4y agoDon’t disturb cops while they drink coffee. Poor guys. /s
- adastra22 4y agoHow is taking your own property back being a bad citizen?
- throwaway049 4y agoI think he intended to be a good citizen by leading the police to some bike thieves.
- acadapter 4y agoIn some countries it might be illegal to disturb someone's possession of something, as a general rule, regardless of legitimate ownership. For example, in Sweden, if it's been more than 24 hours, it's illegal to do it on your own.
- 908B64B197 4y agoI guess that's parts and parcel for a country that just stopped reporting crime stats for certain crimes a while ago.
- adastra22 4y agoWow this is crazy to me.
- AlexTWithBeard 4y agoIt becomes complicated if the new owner has legitimately bought the bike in a second hand store.
- adastra22 4y agoIt seems it depends on the jurisdiction. In the US you can’t launder title for stolen goods like this. If you bought a stolen bike, well it sucks to be you. The bike goes back to the rightful owner.
- ThrustVectoring 4y agoIt's not that complicated, legally speaking. The rightful owner gets to get their stuff back, and the new "owner" has a claim against the purveyor of stolen goods for the purchase price.
- rompic 4y agoAt least in Austria that's not how it works. The new "owner" will keep the bike as he has bought it in good faith. The shop will claim that it cannot check every used bike. The rightful owner could try to get money from the person who stole it (if found), but they most likely don't have any money. It's the perfect crime and the reason why we cannot have nice bikes. People are literally sleeping with their expensive bikes in a room.
- ozim 4y agoIf you go to someones backyard and start taking things and they call the police then you are a bad citizen. Calling cops and doing it with their help covers your ass.
- _nalply 4y agoIt's called trespassing.
- jrimbault 4y agoCitizens are, generally, not supposed (nor expected to) to take justice into their own hands.
- tinus_hn 4y agoUnfortunately that is one of the best outcomes you can expect. At least he got his bicycle back. During COVID there were plenty of officers available to fine normal people who were sitting too close on a bench. But to deal with real criminals who talk back is too much of a hassle.