A bicycle is stolen in Tokyo . . . . .

[Cowperson]

No crime is too small for the Tokyo cops . . . . . a lengthy police procedural in the LA Times today, a three pager best enjoyed right to the end:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...home-headlines

The good news . . . . the thief is sorry he did it.

Cowperson

[FireFly]

That's a good story. It's a wonder though the cop didn't ticket him for not having a light when he rode away....

[Ozy_Flame]

And I'm not surprised at this either. That country is so ridiculously safe, you have a better chance of being in an earthquake than you do of getting robbed. I love that country, and that's why I'm moving back there next year.

Just stay out of the Yakuza-controlled areas, and you're good to go.

[Vulcan]

Reminds me of my brother in law having the cops come out and dust his car for fingerprints after his Caddie hood ornament was stolen. In a big city I don't think it would even be reported except for insurance purposes. Life in this small town sure is different that way from Calgary. Crime still happens but I've found myself getting lax and less paranoid.

[Hakan]

Great story.

A far cry from Vancouver where I routinely travel with 3 different locks and I use secure bike parking.

[Hack&Lube]

A lot of people don't even lock their front door in Japan. There is just a huge stigma on bad social behavior and crime. Although it does still depend on the neighborhood.

[troutman]

Amsterdam is a bicycle theft free-for-all. No one buys nice bikes there, because they will be immediately stolen.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...54C0A9669C8B63

This city may well have the greatest bicycle density of any European capital, but it does not mean people won't steal yours. Bicycle theft is so common that anyone renting a bike should automatically take out insurance. Similarly, leaving property visible inside a parked car can be an invitation for trouble.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Netherlands#Bike_theft

Bike theft is a serious problem in the Netherlands, especially around train stations, and in larger cities. Never park a bike near a station, use the guarded bike parking ('stalling'). In general, use 2 locks of different kinds (for example, one chain lock and one tube lock). This is because most bike thieves specialize in a particular kind of lock, or carry equipment best suited to one kind of lock. Ideally, you should lock the bike to a lamppost or similar. Bike thieves have been known to simply pickup unattached bikes and load them into a pickup truck, so they can crack open the locks at leisure.

In cities, most bikes are stolen by drug addicts, and they sell most stolen bikes too. In fact they simply offer them for sale to passers-by, if they think no police are watching. Buying a stolen bike is itself illegal, and police do arrest buyers. If you buy for a suspiciously low price (e.g. € 10 to 20), or in a suspicious place (in general, on the street), the law presumes you "know or should have known" the bike was stolen. In other words actual ignorance of the bike's origins is no excuse.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by troutman

Amsterdam is a bicycle theft free-for-all. No one buys nice bikes there, because they will be immediately stolen.

Why am I not surprised. The Western world is drowning itself interally with crap like this. This is but a miniscule sample of what bigger social problems plague our materialistic society.

Geez look at me, I'm speaking like an anarchist, but it's damn true!

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Why am I not surprised. The Western world is drowning itself interally with crap like this. This is but a miniscule sample of what bigger social problems plague our materialistic society.

Geez look at me, I'm speaking like an anarchist, but it's damn true!

Lord Toranago in Shogun was right . . . . . . westerners are barbarians!!!

Cowperson

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Why am I not surprised. The Western world is drowning itself interally with crap like this. This is but a miniscule sample of what bigger social problems plague our materialistic society.

Geez look at me, I'm speaking like an anarchist, but it's damn true!

The problem with Europe is that it's now a free-for all. If you are part of the EU, you are free to travel anywhere and do anything and have a right to live and work there. It's amazing really.

It also means that there are a lot of transient people who engage in petty crime as a way of living...huge populations of youth who just don't care...and poor eastern europeans flooding into the western countries.

[iggypop]

Its a good article, unfortunately it obviously doesn't point out the flaws of a police system like this. Japan has a conviction rate of nearly 98% and a confression rate of over 90%. There is no chance their police or judice system is that good, obviously they are convicting a lot of innocence people. Which in my mind is more scary that having a higher crime rate as the trade off.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by iggypop

Its a good article, unfortunately it obviously doesn't point out the flaws of a police system like this. Japan has a conviction rate of nearly 98% and a confression rate of over 90%. There is no chance their police or judice system is that good, obviously they are convicting a lot of innocence people. Which in my mind is more scary that having a higher crime rate as the trade off.

That is a lot of speculation. I tend to understand their police and judicial system are one of the best in the world. Keep in mind, they have higher budgets, more manpower, and much less crime to deal with in general. They also do their work before convicting somebody. This is not China, Japan is a highly free and liberal country with a very fair and intellectual judicial tradition.

But as a counterpoint to the bicycle story, Japan is not without it's horrible crimes such as this murder of a 22-year old British girl who was teaching English in Japan like so many young westerners...ended up being murdered and buried naked in a bathtub of sand.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1811

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

The problem with Europe is that it's now a free-for all. If you are part of the EU, you are free to travel anywhere and do anything and have a right to live and work there. It's amazing really.

It also means that there are a lot of transient people who engage in petty crime as a way of living...huge populations of youth who just don't care...and poor eastern europeans flooding into the western countries.

A friend of mine in Oslo reached into his pocket and found someone's hand also in there. It was a young boy's--he was Eastern European, perjoratively "Gypsy"--and my friend seized his hand and took him to the nearest police officer. The officer said he could do nothing. By this time the child's mother had appeared, yelling at my friend and the police officer. Once the kid was free to go and the officer had left, the mother began beating the child, saying "that's not how I taught you to do it!".

"Gypsies"--Eastern Europeans of Roma descent, are becoming a huge problem throughout Scandinavia. According to my friend, there is a sort of Godfather, the so-called Gypsy King, who now lives in Norway and lives off of all the cash that has been funnelled up. Of course this is a touchy subject because it obviously is prejudicial of a (largely) identifiable group, so I reserve my judgment on the matter.

But it is interesting to hear my friend--a Punjabi Sikh in Oslo--complaining about the influx of Eastern Europeans into his country.

[iggypop]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

That is a lot of speculation. I tend to understand their police and judicial system are one of the best in the world. Keep in mind, they have higher budgets, more manpower, and much less crime to deal with in general. They also do their work before convicting somebody. This is not China, Japan is a highly free and liberal country with a very fair and intellectual judicial tradition.

But as a counterpoint to the bicycle story, Japan is not without it's horrible crimes such as this murder of a 22-year old British girl who was teaching English in Japan like so many young westerners...ended up being murdered and buried naked in a bathtub of sand.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1811

Ok I was stretching it by saying "alot of innocent people." But its simply game theory, would you rather have more innocent people convicted, or more guilty people go free. Japan chooses the former, which I dont agree with.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by iggypop

Ok I was stretching it by saying "alot of innocent people." But its simply game theory, would you rather have more innocent people convicted, or more guilty people go free. Japan chooses the former, which I dont agree with.

Okay, I agree with some of that...one of the largest problems and the starkest contrast is that there is no trial by jury (as anyone who plays Phoenix Wright can attest!).

[Daradon]

Crazy story. SO many differences to even our polite little nation.