Erin Dallin had his cherished bike stolen in Seattle in 2021, which was posted for sale on OfferUp weeks later. Despite his efforts to report the bike and seller to OfferUp, the bike was still sold and gone. Online platforms like OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist have revolutionized the resale industry, but also created a market where stolen goods can be easily sold. Bikes are valuable, easy to steal, and a common target in cycling hubs like Seattle, leading to a surge in thefts and inspiring grassroots efforts for tracking ownership and recovering stolen bikes.
Project 529, a program based in Vancouver, B.C., has been successful in reducing bike theft rates by nearly 70% since its launch a decade ago. It focuses on providing tamper-resistant decals with unique numerical identifiers to bikes, allowing for better tracking and recovery of stolen bikes. Despite its success, Project 529 has not gained traction with decision-makers in Seattle, with law enforcement handling stolen bikes like any other stolen property. Efforts to combat bike theft are crucial as Seattle cyclists continue to face a high number of thefts, with nearly 1,000 bikes reported stolen within a 20-mile radius of Seattle so far this year.
Bike Index, a nonprofit registry based in San Francisco, has helped recover nearly 15,000 stolen bikes, with over 1 million bikes registered worldwide. Co-founder Bryan Hance believes that online resale platforms like OfferUp are central to the bike theft problem due to the ease with which sellers can hide their identities. He suggests that mandating sellers to post a picture of the bike’s serial number could be a starting point in addressing the issue. OfferUp claims to invest heavily in trust and safety measures on their platform to protect users, with thousands of accounts disabled based on internal review methods and a focus on preventing the sale of stolen goods.
In Seattle, victims of bike theft are turning to vigilante groups like Bike Recovery Action Teams (BRAT) for help in recovering stolen bikes. Tracy, the leader of BRAT, helps recover stolen bikes by identifying suspicious listings online, posing as a buyer, and arranging meetups with sellers to verify stolen bikes. Tracy has recovered up to 500 bikes over more than five years and even helped police track down and arrest prolific thieves. While these efforts are commendable, they highlight the challenges faced by law enforcement in responding to bike theft cases due to resource constraints.
Despite efforts by groups like BRAT and programs like Project 529, bike theft remains a significant problem in Seattle. Online platforms like OfferUp play a role in facilitating the sale of stolen goods, and more needs to be done to address the issue. While OfferUp claims to take actions to prevent the sale of stolen goods on their platform, there are still challenges in verifying serial numbers and ensuring that stolen bikes are not being sold. As victims like Erin Dallin continue to face the loss of their bikes and struggle to recover them, there is a clear need for stronger measures to combat bike theft in Seattle and other cycling hubs.
