So I’m not completely happy at how this whole bike theft thing has played out.
<from an email I just sent to a senior assistant attorney general>
The issue here is that the bike shop is out the cash they paid the thief, I mean, person of interest (whose name and city I have tracked down, by the way). This seems unfair. But if any shop declines to pay on receipt of the goods, they’ll lose trade, putting them at a disadvantage to those who are less scrupulous. What I think would be more fair is to have a waiting period, 10 business days to a month, where no money can change hands, but the serial number can be checked against the police case database. Once it’s clear no reports have been filed, the transaction can take place.
This takes one of the big incentives for bike theft off the table and doesn’t stick bike shops with the tab for stolen goods they have to return to their rightful owners.
What do you think are the odds of the Bicycle Laundering Act passing?