Bicycle theft, a close-to-home social problem

For a Sociology class, I was asked to describe a close-to-home social problem, characterize it as “rural” or “urban,” and identify “objective” and “subjective” aspects of the problem. For this assignment, I described bicycle theft as an urban problem.

Objective aspects would include the rate of incidents reported.

For example, the Petaluma Police Department recorded 19 reports of theft during a six-week period, whereas it had recorded just 13 reports of theft during the three months prior to that six-week period (Wetztein, n.d.).

Another objective aspect would include the value of a stolen bicycle. For example, as indicated during a news report by NBC Bay Area, concerning the arrest in December 2019, of four transients by Santa Rosa police “during a bait-bicycle theft sting operation” (Bay City News, 2019). The report indicated that bicycle theft can be charged as “grand theft, a felony if the bike's value is more than $950” (ibid).

Subjective aspects include whether or not there are “numerous” incidents, or a “spike” in local bike thefts, if no actual statistics are included.

For example, the December 2019 news report by NBC Bay Area, which states that police received “numerous complaints about bicycle thefts especially in the downtown area” (ibid).

Or, for example, the write-up for an interview on Northern California Public Media. It quotes an observation by Gary Helfrich of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, that “Santa Rosa seems to be becoming the bike theft capital of the Bay Area” (Northern California Public Media, n.d.) The write-up is undated, and the link to listen to the interview resulted in a 404-Not Found error message.

Subjective aspects might also include the opinion by a victim of bike theft, as to whether or the bicycle had been parked in a visible or out-of-the-way area, as well as emotional reactions to the loss of a bike.

I am unsure whether to classify as objective, or subjective, the belief by a Petaluma police officer that a “particular crime ring” was responsible for the Petaluma thefts. He indicated that this was his belief, but it was based upon an observed “pattern of scouting and a unique methodology to the [bicycle] thefts” (Wetztein, n.d.).

Works cited for this assignment:

Bay City News. (2019.) “Santa Rosa Police Arrests Four in Bike-Theft Sting,” NBC Bay Area, Dec. 14, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/north-bay/santa-rosa-police-arrests-four-in-bike-theft-sting/2196531/

Wetzstein, J. (N.d.) “Surge in bike thefts,” Petaluma Argus Courier. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
https://www.petaluma360.com/news/2226504-181/surge-in-bike-thefts

Northern California Public Media. (N.d.) “Are we seeking a spike in Santa Rosa bike thefts?” Retrieved April 27, 2020.
https://norcalpublicmedia.org/krcb-news-feed/are-we-seeking-a-spike-in-santa-rosa-bike-thefts