Found a stolen bike? Check bikeindex.org, then turn it over to the police. it could become yours

Bike Theft
#1

Be a good citizen and do a check on bikeindex.org to try to find the owner first, but if you find nothing and the bike interests you, turn it over to the police. Check back in 60 days. You maybe able to become the new owner, according to the police
Bike Theft FAQ | Bike Theft Task Force | The City of Portland, Oregon

Don’t feel bad about it. They’re already overwhelmed with them.

If you don’t claim it, then the city will sell them themselves through an auction and keep the money to themselves.

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#2

Does the BTTF still exist? If so, is that mostly a theoretical existence, or do they have some FTE (full time equivalent)?

#3

I don’t believe it ever had anyone really dedicated to it.

#4

They definitely did. I’ve had email conversations with Officer Dave Sanders for years. There was at least one other officer who appeared at events, too.

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#5

They’ve been active on Twitter lately, after the announcement of cuts. I don’t think they’ve been eliminated entirely, just scaled back considerably.

(May be that most of the recoveries they post now are bikes found during calls originally about other stuff… just speculating)

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