My old commuter bike has a Datatag which I got for free in a joint police and Evans cycles thing. I now have 2 newish bikes and it occurred to me that it would be nice if I could get these 2 tagged for free too.
Was I just lucky and happened to come across this one-time-only promotion? Or is something police forces do all the time? Or would I have to actually pay for it?
Not sure I'd actually pay for them and I doubt they're very effective, but if there's a slim chance of them working then it might be worth a go if they're free.
Security Tagging
Re: Security Tagging
Probably a one-off or very occasional promotion. You can get the kit (including transponder) for around £22 from Parkers or Amazon but whilst I thought it was worthwhile when I had a motorbike, I'm not so sure for a pushbike. Probably just as well off postcoding the frame (metal stamp or ultraviolet pen). And of course either use a good lock, never let the bike out of your sight or - in extremis - make sure it's at the bottom of the pile at the cafe stop 
Re: Security Tagging
I use these.... smack it down into the seatpost and it will not be removed.
However only useable on standard(ish) seatpost. I cannot use it on the recumbent's main frames.
Re: Security Tagging
Keep an eye on your local police's website as they might be running the promo again. The police in Bristol are doing similar tomorrow with Immobitags, I have to ride one bike to work then come back after work with the 2nd bike. They won't allow you to take them away with you.
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thirdcrank
- Posts: 36740
- Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm
Re: Security Tagging
I think it's fair to say that historically the police have generally been a lot more interested in the evidential value of recovered property than in reuniting people with their missing stuff. Obviously, a lot of the evidence comes from being able to know what's stolen, who owns it and whether the owner can identify it to the satisfaction of a court, but that's pretty much it. It follows, to me at least, that if your security defences fail and your stuff gets nicked, you have to use its evidential value as a means of getting it back.
The first key point is that identifying property is more than just saying "Yes, that's mine." A record of the serial number(s) is useful, as is an up-to-date photo (no big deal in these digital times.) As well as recording any unique features as proof of ownership, a picture is as good as a thousand words when giving police who may know little about bikes (or whatever) a clue about what they are looking for. Property marking schemes, postcoding, tagging etc, can all have their place. I think the biggest obstacle here is that a lot of people simply cannot be bothered to keep records of all that info.
I understand that this is where immobilise comes in. As I understand it, this is a place where people can make a record of all their worldly goods, or at least the 'identifiable' stuff. (So long as they can be bothered to do so.)
http://www.recipero.com/immobilise
The second key point is that info needs to be widely available if it's to be much use. It seems that the police can check recovered identifiable property against the immobilise database. Apart from that, if property recorded on immobilise is subsequently stolen, then its details can be electronically transferred to the National Mobile Phone and Property Register (NMPR) I see that as a valuable feature because doing all that sort of thing manually is the dreaded paperwork, in spades. http://thenmpr.com/rsc/NMPRbrochure200705.pdf
On the back of this system, the immobilise people offer for sale property tags which should - if scanned - identify the property and link it with the records.
This is really after my time so I cannot comment on how well it works in practice. The NMPR is likened by its owners to the Police National Computer (PNC) The first thing to note is that unlike the PNC, it is all provided by a private company - Recipero. They say they have the support of the Home Office and most UK police forces. The Metropolitan Police seems to be the only police force whose name is officially shown in the supporters bit. No mention, for example of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) who might be expected to have a view. For anybody suspicious of data gathering, this may be a no-no. Otherwise, I've seen any number of schemes of this type - both property indexes and tagging systems - come and go over the years, but this one does seem to have a more widespread acceptance and an air of being more permanent.
The first key point is that identifying property is more than just saying "Yes, that's mine." A record of the serial number(s) is useful, as is an up-to-date photo (no big deal in these digital times.) As well as recording any unique features as proof of ownership, a picture is as good as a thousand words when giving police who may know little about bikes (or whatever) a clue about what they are looking for. Property marking schemes, postcoding, tagging etc, can all have their place. I think the biggest obstacle here is that a lot of people simply cannot be bothered to keep records of all that info.
I understand that this is where immobilise comes in. As I understand it, this is a place where people can make a record of all their worldly goods, or at least the 'identifiable' stuff. (So long as they can be bothered to do so.)
http://www.recipero.com/immobilise
The second key point is that info needs to be widely available if it's to be much use. It seems that the police can check recovered identifiable property against the immobilise database. Apart from that, if property recorded on immobilise is subsequently stolen, then its details can be electronically transferred to the National Mobile Phone and Property Register (NMPR) I see that as a valuable feature because doing all that sort of thing manually is the dreaded paperwork, in spades. http://thenmpr.com/rsc/NMPRbrochure200705.pdf
On the back of this system, the immobilise people offer for sale property tags which should - if scanned - identify the property and link it with the records.
This is really after my time so I cannot comment on how well it works in practice. The NMPR is likened by its owners to the Police National Computer (PNC) The first thing to note is that unlike the PNC, it is all provided by a private company - Recipero. They say they have the support of the Home Office and most UK police forces. The Metropolitan Police seems to be the only police force whose name is officially shown in the supporters bit. No mention, for example of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) who might be expected to have a view. For anybody suspicious of data gathering, this may be a no-no. Otherwise, I've seen any number of schemes of this type - both property indexes and tagging systems - come and go over the years, but this one does seem to have a more widespread acceptance and an air of being more permanent.
Re: Security Tagging
All our bikes are detailed on Immobilise, including frame numbers, photos, receipts and the Datatag info as well. So at least I've got some dated records on there. The electronic tagging may help if they do get nicked, but hopefully a couple of stickers on there will help deter the thieves in the first place.
I do wonder, however, if any policeman ever has actually scanned a bike. Does anyone know of any success with them?
I'll keep and eye out for the Surrey police to see if I can have any luck with freebies. Woking is one of the new cycling towns so there may be more of a chance. Unfortunately I'm away when the Tour Series is on, which I would guess would be a good time for the police to be running a cycle security stand.
I do wonder, however, if any policeman ever has actually scanned a bike. Does anyone know of any success with them?
I'll keep and eye out for the Surrey police to see if I can have any luck with freebies. Woking is one of the new cycling towns so there may be more of a chance. Unfortunately I'm away when the Tour Series is on, which I would guess would be a good time for the police to be running a cycle security stand.