Pierre (assumed first name because he wishes to remain anonymous) is a 30-year-old from Brussels who lives in the Meiser district of Schaerbeek. A fan of two-wheelers, he launched a Twitter account called General Meiser, an account on which he shares information regarding cycling in the capital.
Last week, he recounted a misadventure that he experienced but which, in the end, ended well. Arrived at his job, Pierre decides to place his bike in the underground car park provided for visitors. Since you need a badge to access it and the place is monitored by cameras, the young man from Brussels, in a hurry, decides not to put his padlock. A mistake that will cost him dearly since when he returns to the parking lot later in the day, the bike has disappeared. Only the cast iron remains on the ground.
After having informed the dispatching of his job – which indicates to him that he will not be able to see the images for a question of respect for private life -, Pierre will file a complaint with the police of the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone. . There, an agent tells him to monitor the Facebook page Page Veloflic Polbruwhere all the bikes stolen and found by the Brussels police are listed.
Without much hope of getting his hands on his toy, Pierre is already thinking of buying a new one quickly because he needs it. But the next day, he still decides to check out the second-hand Marketplace site. And there, what was his surprise when he discovered his bike at the top of the list! Even better: if the padlock is missing, everything else (Hornit horn, speedometer, headlights and even the Critical Mass Brussels sticker, from a community that organizes a ride for cyclists every last Friday of the month) is still present.
He traps the thief with the help of the police
Pierre decides to notify the police to present his latest discoveries. It is then decided to contact the seller, fix an appointment and warn the local police zone which will send a patrol at the same time. This is therefore what the Brussels resident does, by warning the Jette police of the scheme. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the seller’s home in Jette, but Pierre must first meet the police at a nearby roundregarding to make a final point on the strategy to adopt. It is finally agreed that Pierre will ask to try the bike and, during this time, the police will have the task of intervening with the thief. Except that the first attempt is a failure, since the police do not intervene and remain in their combi.
Fortunately, the Brussels resident asks his salesman-thief to do a second round and there, the police arrest the thug. A thug who will try to play the innocent, claiming to have bought it on his side and then put it back on sale because he did not like it. But Pierre has all the proof that it is indeed his bike and will therefore be able to set off once more the same evening with his bike.
“Thank you to the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone and the Brussels-West police zone for the support! I was lucky that the thief was in a hurry and not very careful. If he had posted the announcement in 3 months, I would have abandoned the case” concludes the Brussels resident on Twitter.
A police procedure to review?
Contacted by us, Pierre provided us with details of the misdeed. He is somewhat critical of the way the police operate. “When filing a complaint, I was just asked for my statement. It was I who then went out of my way to try to find my bike. I’m lucky to have found it on Marketplace. When I called the police, they advised me to contact the seller. But there I would have liked someone with experience to come with me. Because I contacted the seller myself, made the appointment and thought regarding the ambush. To tell you, the police initially thought of going directly to find the crook seller themselves. Except that if he is on the lookout and does not open the door, the police have no warrant to be able to enter the home. Without my tactic of going there first myself, asking to take the bike outside and thus allowing the police to intervene at the seller’s door, I probably would not have never got my two-wheeler back.”
For Pierre, the police should offer a more formalized procedure so that the victim is better informed of the steps they can take. “A kind of sheet that would include everything we can do to better contribute to the investigation”specifies the Brussels resident. “Because I dug but I’m sure a lot of people wouldn’t have thought or simply dared to go get the bike from an unknown person who probably committed a crime.”
Regarding the individual in question, Pierre does not know if it is the thief or a receiver, but he “was to be questioned by the police. I do know, however, that he has sold other products on Marketplace than my bike, such as tires etc”. “I hope that the police will deepen the investigation using the images from the surveillance cameras in the car park. I don’t know how far it will go. But I have the contact of the police and will not hesitate to contact me. find out regarding the rest of the case”concludes our interlocutor.
When contacted, the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone confirms the filing of the complaint. But she refuses for the time being to make any comment on the results of the investigation. The Brussels-West zone, whose police officers helped to arrest the thief (or receiver), did not wish to give us more details either.
