> We once cut the lock on a friend's very nice bike (she lost the key) using an angle grinder and a miniature generator, in the middle of the high street in the middle of the afternoon, and nobody batted an eyelid.
What should have they done?
Call the police? What would the police do? Question you? Ask about your identities? How would they identify your friend as the owner of the bike?
Since moving to Toronto I've witnessed three people trying to smash locks in street. I stopped them all and asked "Should I believe you should be doing that?"
Two of them said they owned the bike and gave some plausible explanation and way to back it up, and were prepared for me to check. They both thanked me for asking.
The third one told me to fuck off, and ran away.
Certainly the first two could have been thieves, I'll never know.
Props for trying. I would like to think I would do the same in such a scenario but it does seem like a personal safety risk. Although I'd hope to not get shot over a bike, there are people who have been shot over shoes before.
Well, nice bikes are commonly engraved with postcodes here, so that would be something. I'd have expected for some people to at least stare at us or something, but it was like people were trying their best to ignore us, like we had the Somebody Else's Problem field from hhgg, which I suppose we did.
I suppose that's my point really: most of "security" is just the social contract in action. The reason you don't get robbed is because nobody wants to rob you.
What should have they done?
Call the police? What would the police do? Question you? Ask about your identities? How would they identify your friend as the owner of the bike?