Here's what the Garda could/should be doing

flickerx

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21195987216

Doesnt take much effort to do - and it probably wouldnt be any more than documenting the current set up with the auctions, but at least the info would be out there for people to pick up on, and a point of contact would exist for shopping people like the shower on Parnell Street, Eileen at St Peters Church, etc. People ask me why I dont have much respect for the Garda for the job they do - here's an example of something the police could/should be doing, but they dont.

seamus

Interesting idea and painfully simple to implement from a technical POV.

Is there anything stopping one of us from setting up one of these voluntarily and making the Gardai aware of it?

kenmc

You'd THINK it'd be that easy wouldn't you, but there'd probably be another 'blue flu' until they're all trained up on the new technology :rolleyes:

seamus

Well if we set up something voluntarily and told the Gardai about it, then there would be little "training" they'd need, as their job would be picking up the phone and/or logging in.

kenmc

seamus wrote: »

Well if we set up something voluntarily and told the Gardai about it, then there would be little "training" they'd need, as their job would be picking up the phone and/or logging in.

Oops, was that a touch of the flu there? Think I'm coming down with something .

penexpers

seamus wrote: »

Well if we set up something voluntarily and told the Gardai about it, then there would be little "training" they'd need, as their job would be picking up the phone and/or logging in.

Read the comments - seem like the Toronto police aren't actively seeking out the owners of recovered bikes.

p

flickerx wrote: »

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21195987216

Doesnt take much effort to do - and it probably wouldnt be any more than documenting the current set up with the auctions, but at least the info would be out there for people to pick up on, and a point of contact would exist for shopping people like the shower on Parnell Street, Eileen at St Peters Church, etc. People ask me why I dont have much respect for the Garda for the job they do - here's an example of something the police could/should be doing, but they dont.

Jeez, get off your high horse. Have you done anything about this suggestion other than post here. Have you contacted any Gardai about this? How about anyone in Dublin City Council, hell, how about just getting some techie friends to build a site like this, as other posters have said it's not that difficult.

You've posted an example of a good idea that you could do something about but aren't. Contact people about this, ask questions, write to TDs, put pressure on people, join the Dublin Cycling Campaign.

Having a good society comes about when citizens are active in making it that way. So, are you going to step up to the plate or just be a lazy ass person who moans to their friends but never actually does anything either?

Thomas_S_Hunterson

p wrote: »

Jeez, get off your high horse. Have you done anything about this suggestion other than post here. Have you contacted any Gardai about this? How about anyone in Dublin City Council, hell, how about just getting some techie friends to build a site like this, as other posters have said it's not that difficult.

You've posted an example of a good idea that you could do something about but aren't. Contact people about this, ask questions, write to TDs, put pressure on people, join the Dublin Cycling Campaign.

Having a good society comes about when citizens are active in making it that way. So, are you going to step up to the plate or just be a lazy ass person who moans to their friends but never actually does anything either?

Unfortunately we have no authority to do anything on behalf of the gardai.

311

The only way to be innovative with cycling in Ireland ,is by doing something about it yourself.

Fion_McCool

This "bait bike" sounds like an excellent idea for the cops...

A snazzy mountain bike is fitted with a GPS tracking transmitter which is activated when it is moved. Then the cops just followed the signal and affect an arrest.

http://www.pegtech.com/jailhouse.htm

Gavin

Fion_McCool wrote: »

This "bait bike" sounds like an excellent idea for the cops...

A snazzy mountain bike is fitted with a GPS tracking transmitter which is activated when it is moved. Then the cops just followed the signal and affect an arrest.

http://www.pegtech.com/jailhouse.htm

If the devices were cheap enough (which they aren't) an interesting project would be to leave a good number of equipped bikes around town. Monitor where the bikes end up. Any place with more than 1 bike could result in a serious haul of stolen bikes.

Fion_McCool

Verb wrote: »

If the devices were cheap enough (which they aren't) an interesting project would be to leave a good number of equipped bikes around town. Monitor where the bikes end up. Any place with more than 1 bike could result in a serious haul of stolen bikes.

I am not suggesting that an individual should buy this expensive system, but that the Garda should consider getting it in order to combat bicycle theft.

Maybe when a few cop bikes disappear it will be considered.

;-))

flickerx

p wrote: »

Jeez, get off your high horse. Have you done anything about this suggestion other than post here. Have you contacted any Gardai about this? How about anyone in Dublin City Council, hell, how about just getting some techie friends to build a site like this, as other posters have said it's not that difficult.

You've posted an example of a good idea that you could do something about but aren't. Contact people about this, ask questions, write to TDs, put pressure on people, join the Dublin Cycling Campaign.

Having a good society comes about when citizens are active in making it that way. So, are you going to step up to the plate or just be a lazy ass person who moans to their friends but never actually does anything either?

Yep, I have done - when I had a bike robbed I was on to the cops numerous times about it, and about the fences and what they were doing about them, and when I lived near it any time I saw a cop on Parnell Street or around I asked them if they knew about the stolen bikes being sold there, they would say yeah they were looking into it; and asking them constantly to see the bike shed in Store Street after my own was robbed (which I was fobbed off I dont know how many times about because apparently just one cop had access to it, yeah right), also asked up in Kevin Street about Michael McDowell's supposed initiative to have a dedicated bike theft unit at least three times ("Havent heard anything about that" and "We wouldnt be the people to talk to about that" [just who is then?] were the responses). You can only bang your head against that thick steel door waiting for a response before you get tired and battered and bruised and just plain sick of it.

And dont give me that shtick about being lazy - I'm not being paid to investigate and solve crimes, that isnt my job - I spend 40 hours a week doing something else and paying direct taxes on my labour which fund the wages of people - i.e. the cops - who are meant to do this thing for me as a citizen of this state. My money pays for things that I would never ever give willingly for, such as ministerial perks, motorways, TV license inspectors - so as far as I'm concerned I'm perfectly entitled to bitch and gripe and moan about an ineffective state service here or anywhere else without having it thrown back in my face as being some sort of manifestation of being lethargic. Nothing gets my neck up more than a robbed bike, trust me on that one. I'll go to the ends of the earth to locate my own or someone else's pride and joy, because cycling is the most beautiful thing on the earth and has the power to save humanity from stress wars & pollution if only we believed in it enough and proclaimed it collectively, and having your dream machine taken from you for naked greed is pure misery, which can be sorted if both citizens and the mechanisms of the state which are funded by the citizens act. I think anyone will try hard to find their lost bike but if the cops arent willing to help with their resources then people lose hope and eventually just accept it as part of life, which it shouldnt be. If there's any cops out there who are reading and would willingly hire me right now as someone to work as admin for this job, I'll gladly take it.

311

In my mind ,I don't think the gardai see all crimes as the same. Their isn't enough of them around to deal with every crime ,so I think bicycle theft will be a lesser priority than muggings and street violence.

If there were more gardai out on the street ,then they probably wouldn't have to choose what to look out for. I haven't had a bike robbed on me ever ,but I'm always aware of the dangers of leaving a bike unattended though.
I don't think it's fair to blame anyone but the thieves ,for robbing bikes.

TheNog

flickerx wrote: »

Yep, I have done - when I had a bike robbed I was on to the cops numerous times about it, and about the fences and what they were doing about them, and when I lived near it any time I saw a cop on Parnell Street or around I asked them if they knew about the stolen bikes being sold there, they would say yeah they were looking into it; and asking them constantly to see the bike shed in Store Street after my own was robbed (which I was fobbed off I dont know how many times about because apparently just one cop had access to it, yeah right), also asked up in Kevin Street about Michael McDowell's supposed initiative to have a dedicated bike theft unit at least three times ("Havent heard anything about that" and "We wouldnt be the people to talk to about that" [just who is then?] were the responses). You can only bang your head against that thick steel door waiting for a response before you get tired and battered and bruised and just plain sick of it.

And dont give me that shtick about being lazy - I'm not being paid to investigate and solve crimes, that isnt my job - I spend 40 hours a week doing something else and paying direct taxes on my labour which fund the wages of people - i.e. the cops - who are meant to do this thing for me as a citizen of this state. My money pays for things that I would never ever give willingly for, such as ministerial perks, motorways, TV license inspectors - so as far as I'm concerned I'm perfectly entitled to bitch and gripe and moan about an ineffective state service here or anywhere else without having it thrown back in my face as being some sort of manifestation of being lethargic. Nothing gets my neck up more than a robbed bike, trust me on that one. I'll go to the ends of the earth to locate my own or someone else's pride and joy, because cycling is the most beautiful thing on the earth and has the power to save humanity from stress wars & pollution if only we believed in it enough and proclaimed it collectively, and having your dream machine taken from you for naked greed is pure misery, which can be sorted if both citizens and the mechanisms of the state which are funded by the citizens act. I think anyone will try hard to find their lost bike but if the cops arent willing to help with their resources then people lose hope and eventually just accept it as part of life, which it shouldnt be. If there's any cops out there who are reading and would willingly hire me right now as someone to work as admin for this job, I'll gladly take it.

tbh the initative in Canada is interesting but lets be honest, it would cost money not much I'd admit. To have a few people to enter the details of the person's name, contact details such as phone number and address, bicycle make and model and serial number. First of all you would need people to actually fill this form and then send it off. In the long term the person would have to notify the authorities of change of address and contact details. So do you think that many people would do this?

Any approach is for people to write down the serial number of their bike and while they are at it, write down the serial numbers of x-boxes, tvs, laptops, lawnmowers etc and keep those numbers safe. If they are stolen then all you have to do is give the serial numbers to the guards to be entered onto PULSE. If the property is recovered the serial numbers can be checked and the property returned. Much simplier way dont you think.

As for approaching a Garda and saying that a certain pawn or bicycle shop is selling stolen bikes, wheres your proof??? A Garda cannot get a search warrant on heresay only.

Also properly securing a bicycle is critical whether it be on the street or in the shed.

tbh you would not believe the amount of people who keep a €3-4,000 ride-on lawnmower in a locked shed with a €5 padlock

brayblue24

flickerx wrote: »

Yep, I have done - when I had a bike robbed I was on to the cops numerous times about it, and about the fences and what they were doing about them, and when I lived near it any time I saw a cop on Parnell Street or around I asked them if they knew about the stolen bikes being sold there, they would say yeah they were looking into it; and asking them constantly to see the bike shed in Store Street after my own was robbed (which I was fobbed off I dont know how many times about because apparently just one cop had access to it, yeah right), also asked up in Kevin Street about Michael McDowell's supposed initiative to have a dedicated bike theft unit at least three times ("Havent heard anything about that" and "We wouldnt be the people to talk to about that" [just who is then?] were the responses). You can only bang your head against that thick steel door waiting for a response before you get tired and battered and bruised and just plain sick of it.

And dont give me that shtick about being lazy - I'm not being paid to investigate and solve crimes, that isnt my job - I spend 40 hours a week doing something else and paying direct taxes on my labour which fund the wages of people - i.e. the cops - who are meant to do this thing for me as a citizen of this state. My money pays for things that I would never ever give willingly for, such as ministerial perks, motorways, TV license inspectors - so as far as I'm concerned I'm perfectly entitled to bitch and gripe and moan about an ineffective state service here or anywhere else without having it thrown back in my face as being some sort of manifestation of being lethargic. Nothing gets my neck up more than a robbed bike, trust me on that one. I'll go to the ends of the earth to locate my own or someone else's pride and joy, because cycling is the most beautiful thing on the earth and has the power to save humanity from stress wars & pollution if only we believed in it enough and proclaimed it collectively, and having your dream machine taken from you for naked greed is pure misery, which can be sorted if both citizens and the mechanisms of the state which are funded by the citizens act. I think anyone will try hard to find their lost bike but if the cops arent willing to help with their resources then people lose hope and eventually just accept it as part of life, which it shouldnt be. If there's any cops out there who are reading and would willingly hire me right now as someone to work as admin for this job, I'll gladly take it.

As a Community/Mountain Bike Garda/leisure time cyclist I sympathise here but get off your high horse. I have lost count of the times I have attended schools/adult meetings/Neighbourhood Watch meetings and offered Ultra Violet markings for bicycles (all that is currently available here-and BTW the equipment I have was given to me by a PC in Stockport,UK).. The sum total of people to take me up on my offers=0!!

Harpz

Any chance of more info on the ultra violet markings?
Also I was once told that putting a transmitter on a nice bike and leaving it around town as a sting operation would not be legal, I forget the alleged reason. Can you shed any light on that?
Thanks

Chips Lovell

To be honest, the cops starting a Facebook group is exactly the kind of thing that would have me throwing my eyes up to heaven, a "down with the kids" kind of initiative that takes all of a few minutes to do and in no way reflects how much manpower and resources is put behind bike theft.

The Guards alright have an anonymous phone line for tips. Ever since the days of Garda Patrol, they've been encouraging people to record the serial numbers of their bikes so they can supply them in the event of theft.

Harpz wrote: »

Also I was once told that putting a transmitter on a nice bike and leaving it around town as a sting operation would not be legal, I forget the alleged reason. Can you shed any light on that?

I'm no legal mind, but the issue would possibly be entrapment.

brayblue24

Harpz wrote: »

Also I was once told that putting a transmitter on a nice bike and leaving it around town as a sting operation would not be legal, I forget the alleged reason. Can you shed any light on that?
Thanks

Yes, it's entrapment.

seamus

How so?

From what I know, there's a case for entrapment when you cause someone to commit a crime when they may not have previously intended to commit that crime.

So going up to someone and asking them if they want to buy drugs would be entrapment - you cannot prove that they would have otherwise committed the crime if you hadn't approached them.

However, standing on the street minding your own business and arresting someone who asks you if you have any drugs for sale, is fine because the perp had clearly intended to commit the crime.

By the same token, it could definitely be argued that leaving a nice shiny bike in a dodgy area with no lock is akin to sticking a sign on it saying "Please take me", but putting a nice bike in a dodgyish area (say Aungier St) with a cheap lock on it isn't the same - it requires some intent (and indeed some tools) in order to steal it.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

el tonto wrote: »

I'm no legal mind, but the issue would possibly be entrapment.

A sting like this would not constitute entrapment as far as i know.

Entrapment law here is a bit more skewed in favour of the authorities than it is in the USA, in that they are allowed incite the illegal activity.

Fion_McCool

brayblue24 wrote: »

Yes, it's entrapment.

The whole point of such an operation should be to put a doubt in the minds of potential bicycle thieves. They could never be sure the next bike they steal has a Garda gps tracker in it, after a few stings like this.

http://www.pegtech.com/jailhouse.htm

If indeed there is an "industrial" bike snatching operation out there they would be quickly identified.

Cyclists pay taxes too and are surely entitled to some protection from the Garda.

drcopernicus

brayblue24 wrote: »

Yes, it's entrapment.

Cute and all as is the firmness and confidence with which this statement of the law is made, the scheme outlined appears, to me at least, to be well within the bounds of legal possibility.

People may, understandably, be having "plead-the-fifth" moments and applying their knowledge of the law as gleaned from US cop shows.

In this jurisdiction, the applicable law is Article 38 of Bunreacht na hEireann and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provide for the right to a fair trial.

The question is, therefore, whether the characteristics of a sting operation would be such as to compromise the right of the accused to a fair trial and thereby allow him to tender a defence of entrapment, or, better yet, to prevent the evidence against the accused being tendered to a jury.

The leading European case, AFAIK, is Teixeira de Castro v. Portugal (1999), while in England R v Loosely seems instructive. In Ireland, if a constitutional right is violated, the evidence gathered on foot of the violation would tend to be inadmissible in court.

In Teixeira, as resident Iberophile, El Tonto (abbrazzo de la ley?), will know, the cops basically pestered a non-drug dealer to acquire and provide them with drugs. This pestering went on over a significant period and when the accused eventually gave in, to make them go away, they arrested him.

The crime would never have occurred if the cops had not procured the accused to commit it. Fitting a transmitter to a bike does not, of itself, do more than provide the prospective thief with an ordinary opportunity to commit a crime.

The question is really whether the fact that the thief took a bike that happened to have a transmitter in it constitutes an "unfairness" and prejudices his right to a fair trial. I can't see how it does. It certainly can't be said that he or she was procured, cajoled or intimidated into stealing the bike.

However, if the gardai propped a bike up against a tree on O'Connell Street and then hounded an impoverished urchin to steal it in exchange for 100 euro; that would tend to be prejudicial to the whole trial process. It would also tend to have criminalised an otherwise law-abiding citizen.

In fact, according to statute, if I were to ask someone to steal a bike for me, I would be equally guilty of theft in the eyes of the law and subject to the same penalties as the primary offender. I don't see why it shouldn't be the same for the cops.

I think what people might have gnawing away at the back of their minds is a suspicion that this form of trap might be somewhat "unsporting"; removing "sporting chance" from the equation, enhancing the risks of ordinary, decent criminality. However, removal of the sporting chance in the detection of crime, is not the same thing as constitutional unfairness. As a victim of bike thieves, I can't say I'd be all cut up about that.

Anyone who regularly uses Moore Street will know that bicycles which are nicked from O'Connell Street are immediately wheeled into Moore Street where attempts are made to flog them for no more than 20 quid. I have reported this process to the gardai on several occassions, but nothing comes of it.

Hard as it may be to believe, Dublin is so crime-ridden that at 3 p.m. on a weekday afternoon, no gardai are available to make arrests in the city centre.

When you ring O'Connell Street station, you will be told that the person you have reported is visible to the officer you're talking to on CCTV. At lest twice, I have watched a thief take a bike from O'Connell St and wheel it up Moore St. as far as the Lidl, hawking their wares all the time.

As an experiment, I provided the cops with constant updates over the half hour periods during which these sales have been attempted. Despite the fact that they had ample time to saunter into Moore Street, which is mere yards from the garda station and adjacent to Ireland's busiest urban thoroughfare, despite the fact that they had an eye-witness willing to provide a statement and to appear in court for the prosecution, the thieves I saw were left to leave Moore Street with their stolen property, completely unmolested by the forces of law and order.

Bikes aren't cheap by any stretch, and when mine was stolen, I wasn't in a position to replace it. I'd been deprived of my means of transport and it had an enormous impact on my lifestyle. The inconvenience and expense are significant. When you multiply these by the number of people who are deprived of their property, it's a pretty appalling vista, especially considering the ease with which the gardai could discourage opportunistic city-centre bike theft.

If anyone is still with me, the one useful bit of advice I can offer is that if your bike goes missing from O'Connell Street, leg it around to Moore Street because, in all likelihood, the CNUT who took it is still there.

And he'll only want 20 quid to give it back. Or a kick in the goolies.

Ghost Rider

Good post. Cheers.

drcopernicus wrote: »

Cute and all as is the firmness and confidence with which this statement of the law is made, the scheme outlined appears, to me at least, to be well within the bounds of legal possibility.

People may, understandably, be having "plead-the-fifth" moments and applying their knowledge of the law as gleaned from US cop shows.

In this jurisdiction, the applicable law is Article 38 of Bunreacht na hEireann and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provide for the right to a fair trial.

The question is, therefore, whether the characteristics of a sting operation would be such as to compromise the right of the accused to a fair trial and thereby allow him to tender a defence of entrapment, or, better yet, to prevent the evidence against the accused being tendered to a jury.

The leading European case, AFAIK, is Teixeira de Castro v. Portugal (1999), while in England R v Loosely seems instructive. In Ireland, if a constitutional right is violated, the evidence gathered on foot of the violation would tend to be inadmissible in court.

In Teixeira, as resident Iberophile, El Tonto (abbrazzo de la ley?), will know, the cops basically pestered a non-drug dealer to acquire and provide them with drugs. This pestering went on over a significant period and when the accused eventually gave in, to make them go away, they arrested him.

The crime would never have occurred if the cops had not procured the accused to commit it. Fitting a transmitter to a bike does not, of itself, do more than provide the prospective thief with more than an ordinary opportunity to commit a crime.

The question is really whether the fact that the thief took a bike that happened to have a transmitter in it constitutes an "unfairness" and prejudices his right to a fair trial. I can't see how it does. It certainly can't be said that he or she was procured, cajoled or intimidated into stealing the bike.

However, if the gardai propped a bike up against a tree on O'Connell Street and then hounded an impoverished urchin to steal it in exchange for 100 euro; that would tend to be prejudicial to the whole trial process. It would also tend to have criminalised an otherwise law-abiding citizen.

In fact, according to statute, if I were to ask someone to steal a bike for me, I would be equally guilty of theft in the eyes of the law and subject to the same penalties as the primary offender. I don't see why it shouldn't be the same for the cops.

I think what people might have gnawing away at the back of their minds is a suspicion that this form of trap might be somewhat "unsporting"; removing
"sporting chance" from the equation, enhancing the risks of ordinary, decent criminality. However, removal of the sporting chance in the detection of crime, is not the same thing as constitutional unfairness. As a victim of bike thieves, I can't say I'd be all cut up about that.

Anyone who regularly used Moore Street will know that bicycles which are nicked from O'Connell Street are immediately wheeled into Moore Street where attempts are made to flog them for no more than 20 quid. I have reported this process to the gardai on several occassions, but nothing comes of it.

Hard as it may be to believe, Dublin is so crime-ridden that at 3 p.m. on a weekday afternoon, no gardai are available to make arrests in the city centre.

When you ring O'Connell Street station, you will be told that the person you have reported is visible to the officer you're talking to on CCTV. At lest twice, I have watched a thief take a bike from O'Connell St and wheel it up Moore St. as far as the Lidl, hawking their wares all the time.

As an experiment, I provided the cops with constant updates over the half hour periods during which these sales have been attempted. Despite the fact that they had ample time to saunter into Moore Street, which is mere yards from the garda station and adjacent to Ireland's busiest urban thoroughfare, despite the fact that they had an eye-witness willing to provide a statement and to appear in court for the prosecution, the thieves I saw were left to leave Moore Street with their stolen property, completely unmolested by the forces of law and order.

Bikes aren't cheap by any stretch, and when mine was stolen, I wasn't in a position to replace it. I'd been deprived of my means of transport and it had an enormous impact on my lifestyle. The inconvenience and expense are significant. When you multiply these by the number of people who are deprived of their property, it's a pretty appalling vista, especially considering the ease with which the gardai could discourage opportunistic city-centre bike theft.

If anyone is still with me, the one useful bit of advice I can offer is that if your bike goes missing from O'Connell Street, leg it around to Moore Street because, in all likelihood, the CNUT who took your bike is still there.

And he'll only want 20 quid to give it back.

Chips Lovell

Are you the Copernicus I know?

rubadub

311 wrote: »

In my mind ,I don't think the gardai see all crimes as the same. Their isn't enough of them around to deal with every crime ,so I think bicycle theft will be a lesser priority than muggings and street violence.

But they do not see it the same as other sorts of similar theft too. If I reported my unalarmed house was broken into and they stole €3000 worth of jewellry or some other things I bet they would pay more attenion than if I said my unalarmed shed had a €3k bike robbed from it.

Many still view it as "schoolyard" crime IMO. What would get a bigger follow up, a €3k car robbed or a €3k bike?

There was a great honeypot sting recorded on youtube, the whole bike rigged up ready to injure the theif who rode off on it.

I remember when mine was nicked I was thinking I should leave the new one with a cheap lock in the same area, then lie in wait with 10 mates armed to the teeth

brayblue24 wrote: »

I have lost count of the times I have attended schools/adult meetings/Neighbourhood Watch meetings and offered Ultra Violet markings for bicycles (all that is currently available here-and BTW the equipment I have was given to me by a PC in Stockport,UK).. The sum total of people to take me up on my offers=0!!

Have you had takers for marking anything else? Why do you think there is a discrepancy if there is a take up for other items? Do you have any figures for retrievals due to this system?

If there was real threat of this stopping theives they would simply get the light needed and wash it off with solvents, something to stop tracking devices is probably more expensive. I would imagine most pro theives would scans their TVs etc with light these days, especially if it was well know that these markings lead to arrest.

drcopernicus

el tonto wrote: »

Are you the Copernicus I know?

Fo' shizzle. I am a long-time Cycling forum lurker.

There was a great honeypot sting recorded on youtube, the whole bike rigged up ready to injure the thief who rode off on it.

I remember when mine was nicked I was thinking I should leave the new one with a cheap lock in the same area, then lie in wait with 10 mates armed to the teeth

Revenge fantasies, while awesome, should never be put into practice. The honeypot sting above would meet the definition of assault as per the NFOATP Act; especially if a good samaritan was in the process of bringing it to the local Lost and Found.

Still, an understanding judge would probably give you the "benefit" of the Probation Act.

Chips Lovell

drcopernicus wrote: »

Fo' shizzle. I am a long-time Cycling forum lurker.

The legal knowledge and the nickname were a dead giveaway.

drcopernicus

el tonto wrote: »

The legal knowledge and the nickname were a dead giveaway.

Speaking of legal knowledge, I should add that when they tire of trying to make a sale on Moore Street, the friendly neighbourhood thiefmeister will work his way down Parnell Street towards Capel.

If I can learn how to fix the brakes on my cheapo replacement hybrid from one of these online tutorials, I might see you at Merrion Sq on Sunday morning.

Chips Lovell

drcopernicus wrote: »

If I can learn how to fix the brakes on my cheapo replacement hybrid from one of these online tutorials, I might see you at Merrion Sq on Sunday morning.

I'll more than likely be there alright. Myself and the better half will probably do it if the weather isn't completely foul.

What kind of brakes are they and what's wrong with them?

Húrin

Fion_McCool wrote: »

Cyclists pay taxes too and are surely entitled to some protection from the Garda.

This is an important sentence. I bet this doesn't occur to the senior Gardai and still less to most politicians. People here in Ireland often still imagine the average cyclist to be in one of the following categories

a) juvenile (thus, doesn't pay taxes)
b) college student (thus, doesn't pay taxes)
c) unemployed (thus, doesn't pay taxes)
d) low-wage immigrant worker (thus, doesn't pay taxes)
e) some other sort who can't afford a car (and if they don't have the money for that, they probably can't pay taxes either, so...)