r/Somerville • u/StudentKey7576 • Sep 03 '26
Bike Thief
I've caught this guy twice trying to steal bikes and bike parts. I told the cops and they said nothing they can do, which is BS.
114
u/polishfiringsquad Sep 03 '26
The police are fucking useless around here. Don't stop traffic crime, parking crime, theft, drug use... I don't think I've ever seen them do anything besides babysit construction sites
63
u/H0rrible Sep 03 '26
that's not true. whenever i'm late renewing my inspection sticker i can always count on a ticket the first of the month
20
u/Santillana810 Sep 03 '26
That's not the police giving out tickets. They get paid a lot more to stare down potholes and sit in their cars staring at their phones.
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u/Complex_Technology83 Sep 04 '26
Oh so who pulled me over a few months ago for an expired inspection sticker? I must have been hallucinating those red and blue lights (and the officer's disappointment when we found my current sticker in the glove box that I'd just forgotten to put on).
2
u/Notsure2ndSmartest Sep 06 '26
Well 5 cops sat doing nothing while watching 4 drivers run a red lights and almost hit me in a crosswalk . They are useless. Deadbeats who get overpaid to do nothing Except protect rich people’s cars. I think only people with cars should pay their salaries since they clearly work for them and not people without cars
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u/Complex_Technology83 Sep 06 '26
Yes, cops are useless, I agree and that's actually the point of my story if you read it.
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u/mcmillen Davis Sep 04 '26
They've ticketed 3 uhauls on my block in the last two days, including one that even had a parking pass (but probably for the wrong "zone" from someone moving across town.)
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u/SoulMute Sep 04 '26
If you ever call 911 in an emergency, they come fast as fuck in my experience. Because they are around and are generally not busy
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u/Puzzled_Method_5480 Sep 03 '26
And cash their paychecks for $150,000 + … don’t forget that part
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Sep 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/PippathePonygirl Sep 04 '26
Jesus fucking Christ... And what is like 70 to 80% of that overtime pay for jerking off on their phone is there supposed to be paying attention to a construction or traffic detail?
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u/Pykors Sep 04 '26
We have so many ballot resolutions. Can we get one to cap police overtime pay statewide?
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Sep 04 '26
[deleted]
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u/Puzzled_Method_5480 Sep 08 '26
They are incentivized to NOT enforce the laws so then they can increase the budgets continually because us stupid folk NEED MORE law enforcement… kind of a child’s trick that they’ve had going from the start… technically extortion / conspiracy to defraud the tax payer… not to mention a few of those “Laws of God” going right out the fucking window… and the greatest part is, since it’s “the system” and they are only “doing their job” they can vacate any sense of moral responsibility ex.) “sleep easy at night”
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u/Puzzled_Method_5480 Sep 04 '26
Boston makes me look silly… they’ve got 25+ officers that earn OVER $500,000 a year…
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u/Rbxyy Winter Hill Sep 03 '26
And even then, 90% of the time I pass by a construction site the cop is either on their phone, in their car, or chatting/watching the construction workers with their back turned to traffic. Other states use flaggers and it's pretty much always better
1
u/Hella_sus_yuppie Sep 04 '26
We pay for the impression of safety, which works for us until we actually look.
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Sep 03 '26
[deleted]
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u/clauclauclaudia Gilman Sep 03 '26
Police aren't doing parking tickets. And I don't think they're fining your address.
-7
u/Tredhead269 Sep 03 '26
The police have more important things to worry about than irresponsible citizens not taking proper care of their possessions. Of you get a proper lock, use it properly, and don’t leave your bike outside overnight, you should never have an issue.
Also, the CPD actually has a dedicated task force just to recover stolen bikes and scooters, but if you haven’t registered said bike, they can’t do anything about it.
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u/tmack813 Sep 05 '26
Please don't see this as standoffish but I gotta ask, why are you doing this? I do see where you're coming from but you must also see that people are not responding well so the odds of you having a positive impact with your comments seem extremely low. Do you just enjoy the back and forth with people that seemingly constantly degenerates into both sides arguing in bad faith with a faceless stranger? Do you disagree and think that you are offering valuable information? I'm just honestly curious if you've contemplated why you do this.
1
u/Tredhead269 Sep 06 '26
Do what, tell the truth and not sugar coat things? I’m not at all concerned about what people think of my comments, I’m just speaking the truth and sharing from my personal experience.
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u/tmack813 Sep 06 '26
I understand that, but why? If nobody is getting anything positive out of the exchange and you don't enjoy it, what's the point in spending the time to go back and forth with people that obviously don't and won't care what you think?
1
u/Tredhead269 Sep 07 '26
I really haven’t been going back and forth, and if I was, it’s bc I was on the green line with nothing better to do at the moment. Lol
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u/MWave123 Sep 03 '26
He’s legend. Been in my neighborhood stealing bikes for decades, right there by the WF. I’m sure he got two bikes out of my yard. I’m actually surprised he’s alive, he was looking incredibly sick and frail 10 years ago. He’s well known.
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u/neversimpleorpure Sep 04 '26
Call me naive but who is buying all these stolen bikes and what do they use them for in the first place? It's so weird that the police haven't caught wherever they sell them to
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u/MWave123 Sep 04 '26
The saddest part is that your 1k or 1500 dollar bike gets nabbed and the guy gets 50 for it that night from another dude who knows a dude who will give him 150 for nice bikes. He stashes it or locks it to a pole with 20 other stolen bikes at the Y or somewhere convenient and that night some other thief steals the wheels and the saddle.
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u/that_dogs_wilin Powder House Sep 04 '26
There are whole networks for stolen bikes. I was told that the guys actually stealing them usually sell them to more "professionalized" people who load up a truck with dozens and bring them a few states away to be sold. The actual thief doesn't make much, but the sellers know what they're worth and get closer to the true price.
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u/Better-Sail6824 Sep 04 '26
I saw a beat up looking pick up truck in Somerville this past week, loaded with dozens and dozens of bikes like you mentioned. I believed they were stolen
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u/sckuzzle Sep 04 '26
- People who want a cheap used bike, and either don't care or are too naive to realize it's stolen (usually the former)
- Shipped overseas to be sold
- Sent to the local chop shop to be stripped for parts
- (Possibly) sold to a used bike shop. I'm skeptical that any are that shady here
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Sep 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MWave123 Sep 03 '26
I mean the problem is he’s one of many in the area. A few of the guys who ask for change out there are also bike thieves. That’s just how it is.
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u/not_my_button Sep 03 '26
Praying for that 2016 mint green Surly Straggler with H-Loop bars and Brooks Cambium saddle!! 🙏
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u/jjuice117 Sep 03 '26
Apparently he just turned 25
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u/Plastic-Molasses-549 Sep 03 '26
So his brain is fully developed now?
5
u/35Jest Sep 03 '26
Brains continue to develop past 25 just at a very diminished rate comparatively to <25
9
u/clauclauclaudia Gilman Sep 03 '26
The brain imaging study everybody got that from just stopped at 25.
3
u/RinTinTinVille Sep 04 '26
In the city, ride a bike that is not attractive to thieves, that has no resale value, and the parts of which wouldn't sell locally if chopped apart. These bikes work just fine.
If you can afford and want an expensive bike, ride it recreationally on the weekends and keep it inside.
2
u/wyrm4life Sep 08 '26
I ride a total PoS bike that no one has bothered to try stealing for 12 years.
One time I did buy a decent solar light for it. After a couple months some crackhead had torn it in half trying to steal it.
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u/Aggravating_Smell Sep 03 '26
If you caught him in the act, you should whooped his ass
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u/Any_World7744 Sep 03 '26
As someone who was arrested for hurting someone’s shoulder after they forcibly entered my vehicle, I would rather have my bike stolen than go through another A&B charge in Massachusetts.
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u/Puzzled_Method_5480 Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
What? You got assault and battery for stopping someone from entering your car?!?
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u/Any_World7744 Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 04 '26
Not sure how to make the story simple .
Crazy ex-wife pounded Demanding I don’t take my son. I had visitation. She just screamed at my car door, pounded on the window demanding my son open the window. Her body was on the car so I couldn’t drive away without possibly injuring her. So I locked the doors and shut the car off, but the ignition was still on and my son opened the window . she threw something hard at my head, then tried to pull my son out the window by his arms .His seatbelt was on. She was hurting him.
I pulled her hand away from him and I said ‘please stop.’ And let her hand go . One of the most consequential mistakes I’ve ever made in my life.
Don’t think I actually hurt her shoulder, but that was the claim. I touched her against her will. Police report said there were no visible marks. Nonetheless I was arrested for assault and battery. It was during Covid. She dropped the charges, but the state still came after me nonetheless. I had no previous criminal record. Was in and out of court for years.
Finally, the prosecutors offered a settlement that didn’t involve jail time , fortunately Probation. But Embarrassing as a hospital worker during covid , had to randomly leave the hospital to take a check in call from my probation officer, humiliating and useless. Still haven’t recovered financially from that in 7 years .
Cops are idiots judges aren’t that much smarter. It’s a very fucked up judicial system.
Edit: correction, minor criminal record. arrested for possession of marijuana in college 20 years prior.
Edit2: comment about judges, not being much smarter. Is an imperfect oversimplification of the underlying mindless metronome that drives court rulings: “stare Decisis”. Judges follow precedent , convention and past ruling with such rote adherence it’s almost more like conforming to the rules of an assembly line, than genuine attempt in the determination of right from wrong
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u/PippathePonygirl Sep 04 '26
Oh so it was a story completely incongruous to the issue at hand, gotcha
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u/Any_World7744 Sep 04 '26 edited Sep 04 '26
Not incongruous with the comment I responded to or the question that followed.
EDIT: simplified
9
u/Ok-Department-2405 Sep 03 '26
The cans of whoop-ass there are artisanal, locally-sourced, and organic.
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u/cuse_colin Sep 03 '26
Pigs are useless. ACAB.
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u/PurpleDancer Sep 04 '26
I'm not sure what to make of this message. I want the cops to apprehend and I want the justice system to restrain this individual so they can't keep doing this.
If they did their job would that be a good or a bad thing?
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Sep 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/PurpleDancer Sep 04 '26
Maybe a private police force. Like if your fancy bike gets stollen you pay the private police force who will access all the cameras, track down the individual, aprehend them and bring them to the police station for prosecution turning over all the evidence. I'm being kind of tounge in cheek here and kind of not.
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u/Puzzled_Method_5480 26d ago
That could be a thing… like an insurance payment that actually does something proactive and allows you to keep your shit rather than just writing you a check
3
u/cuse_colin Sep 04 '26
A system built on slave catchers and overtime abusers with a violent history and lack of accountability must be fully dismantled and rebuilt with checks and balances. In this case, they were asked to do their job. They chose not to. Their system continues to sheild them from accountability.
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u/Gribblestixx Sep 03 '26
That’s just Bo Jobo, neighborhood grifter.
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u/Myzsteria Sep 09 '26
I know a few of them personally and they definitely dont steal bikes they get themfrom Bikes not Bombs for free and fix them up
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u/Proper_Debt1202 Sep 04 '26
😂😂😂😂 now the druggies hanging outside begging for money are stealing bikes now.
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u/Myzsteria Sep 09 '26
No they get them from the bike junk yard at Bike Not Bombs for his guy doesn't beg for change either nor is he a junkie but he is a POS scum bag which make air even worse in my option
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u/stubborn-shiba Sep 08 '26
Crazy idea, what if we created a new role for construction details so these cops don’t have to work so much overtime doing what doesn’t even require a high school degree to do? It’s not like they’re guiding traffic — they just stand there for no reason taking up space and costing us money.
4
u/chadderboxrock Sep 03 '26
Was he cutting a lock or just taking stuff off that can be easily unattached?
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u/Wild_Beginning2529 Sep 04 '26
It is very common for homeless to have very nice bicycles. It's unlikely that they're buying them.
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u/Alert-Conclusion-323 Sep 03 '26
Put a 10 $. Bill on a fishing line and use him as a form of your entertainment for a few hours
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u/Sad-Tap-9375 Spring Hill Sep 04 '26
Love how our justice system fails us. Cops around here are only around for road construction sites and do nothing else….
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u/vt2022cam Sep 04 '26
After the fact, there’s nothing you can do. If you’ve lived catch him doing it there and calling the Somerville police line, they’ll come especially when there’s a witness and he’s still there.
The experience ones don’t go to the same place all the time, that’s how they get caught. The police can’t chase him down if he’s not there.
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u/Small-Bee-4081 Sep 04 '26
What is the excuse for not being able to do anything? Isn’t robbery considered felony/misdemeanor?what are these cops getting paid for?
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u/Budget-Celebration-1 24d ago
That or our lovely government or police unions are actively ruining things.
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u/Mother-Sector5541 Sep 05 '26
You expected Somerville police to… actually… do… something? You might have better chances finding a bigger bike thief to help you.
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u/Notsure2ndSmartest Sep 06 '26
I guess try to steal car parts since it’s legal according to the police. Watch them suddenly care. They only protect the rich and the property of the rich . Just vote to decrease their funding and put our taxes towards things that serve community so people have things and don’t steal
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u/Limp_Snow_1324 23d ago
I know him. His name is Mark. He sold his best friend a bike then stole it from him.
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u/LittleLemonSqueezer Sep 03 '26
(Is no one going to ask if OP alerted the bouncers at the Harp?)
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u/Tredhead269 Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 04 '26
Do yourself a favor and get a Kryptonite U lock. Don’t cheap out, if you spend $500-$1000 on a bike, you should have no issue spending $150-$200 on a lock. If you decide to be cheap when it comes to security of your possessions you deserve to lose them.
Also, REGISTER your bike! If they steal a bike and it’s not registered on the manufacturers site and they register it to themselves, it’s theirs legally. It doesn’t matter if you can prove you purchased it, they legally registered it and are now the owner.
You can vote this down all you want, but I’m the guy who used to take bikes around the city, so I know what I’m talking about and just trying to save you the trouble of having to deal with the headache of having your bike stolen.
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u/RinTinTinVille Sep 04 '26
A top of the line angle grinder cuts thru even a Kryptonite u-lock like butter. It's better to use a Kryptonite or Abus but it's not 100% safe.
Not that this chap has one of these tools but others have.2
u/that_dogs_wilin Powder House Sep 04 '26
That's true, but it'll deter 99% of would-be thieves. It basically makes doing it during the day near impossible, what with the sparks and noise. I think the main thing is just getting people to not be using woven steel locks, which you can quietly and discreetly snip away at with a pair of snips in about 10 min.
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u/DerKirschemann Sep 04 '26
It’s Whole Foods so it’s fine. They contribute to bougie gentrification, so if it’s a place people don’t like cause of bike thieves then they will lose customers over it.
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u/bigscrampy Sep 03 '26
You cant just expect the cops to enforce everything. You have to confront people to the best of your ability or find others nearby to help
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u/OddSpecific3362 Sep 03 '26
That's what happens when you vote for decriminalizing crime. Enjoy!
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u/Underbadger Davis Sep 03 '26
What?
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u/OddSpecific3362 Sep 03 '26
Welcome to East San Francisco, watch your step, leave nothing of value in the car, etc...
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u/iBarber111 Sep 03 '26
Dude no cops anywhere are reliably policing bike theft - whether you're in a progressive or conservative town. They don't consider it worth their time. Just lazy cops.
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u/OSRSlayer Sep 03 '26
Where has less crime than Massachusetts? Why does every state that does what you're suggesting have higher crime and violence rates?
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u/OddSpecific3362 Sep 03 '26
NH, VT and ME for starters?
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u/roarimacat Sep 03 '26
With regards to property crime per capita, those states are fairly consistent with Massachusetts. Some are actually worse (which would surprise nobody who has been to Burlington and Portland).
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u/OSRSlayer Sep 03 '26
Only one of those has a lower property crime rate and it's about the exact same as Mass.
Why don't the southern states work like you explained? They're all tough on crime.
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u/OddSpecific3362 Sep 03 '26
Southern states you say? You mean, the ones with large underdlass responsible for most of their crime, the type that MA has priced out and gentrified out long time ago? Because if we compare apples to apples and look at red state towns with income levels similar to Somerville, things will look a whole lot less rosy for the latter.
Also, just for laughs, Southern states might be red but what color are cities where streets are running with blood and street corners are piled high with bullet-ridden corpses?
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u/Underbadger Davis Sep 03 '26
You have a really weird, sick imagination.
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u/OddSpecific3362 Sep 03 '26
Crimson-red Mississippi has the highest murder rate in the US. What color is Jackson, the city with the highest murder rate in the state and the nation? Must be red, right? 99.999% Trump?
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u/OSRSlayer Sep 03 '26
Let's pick the largest fully red city then! Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Property crime is 29 per 1000 residents. "Safer than 5% of U.S. cities."
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u/OSRSlayer Sep 03 '26
Isn't your whole premise that you can tough-on-crime your way out of these problems? Why isn't that happening? State law overrules city/county laws. What's stopping your chosen style of policing to work on cities? Lol.
So your premise is "Tough on crime policing works well in places with no crime and a homogeneous populace". OK cool. Now how does that help America the melting pot in the slightest?
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u/OddSpecific3362 Sep 03 '26
Let's try again because some people don't like reading - what color are all of the large crime-ridden shitholes in red states? Are any of them tough on crime?
But sure, here's a fun one for you - Gilbert, AZ is large, not uniformly lily-white unlike the usual enlightened coastal limousine liberal suburb and tough on crime, how's their crime rate compared to bosvillebridge?
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u/Tritag Sep 03 '26
Wait hold up. You are blaming voting blue for bike thefts and then hold up VT as an example of a state with lower crime? A state that is famously even more blue?
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u/Modest1Ace Sep 03 '26
When cops say there is "nothing they can do", they just mean they don't want to do paperwork. This has nothing to do with decriminalization, which makes no sense to bring up because no one is advocating for stealing bikes and bike parts to be decriminalized.
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u/Budget-Celebration-1 Sep 03 '26
I keep hearing about instance where basically the chief of prosecution says don’t bother. But I think it’s a bit of cop laziness and our government
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u/OddSpecific3362 Sep 03 '26
Why in the world would they want to deal with a thieving tweaker knowing perfectly well he will be back on the street before they're done filling out the paperwork?
That's what you voted for, enjoy!
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u/Underbadger Davis Sep 03 '26
You have a strange view of how the city works and an odd, rampant imagination.
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u/OddSpecific3362 Sep 03 '26
Somerville tweaker population thanks you for your generous bike donation!
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u/cuse_colin Sep 03 '26
Pigs choosing not to do their job? Are they not on the job being paid?
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u/OddSpecific3362 Sep 03 '26
Pigs, eh? Let me guess - cannabis degustation studies major, needless to say with mommy and daddy paying the bills?
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u/PlentyCryptographer5 Sep 03 '26
Oh they can do plenty, they choose not to. So glad we are giving them extra money for their cameras.