Is there anything Facebook can't do? A Park Slope family has now used the social networking site to track down an adolescent bicycle thief. Beth Harpaz, an AP reporter and author of The Girls in the Van: Covering Hillary, says a local teen used the oldest trick in the book to separate her 11-year-old son from his new BMX at the playground: He asked to "see your bike for a minute," then never rode back. (The trick even works on adults!) Harpaz tried filing a police report, but a beat cop discouraged her, saying, "If you file a police report, we'll have to arrest him. Just wait a few days. You'll get the bike back." And the policeman was right—though the BMX wasn't recovered thanks to NYPD detective work, but through Harpaz's dogged sleuthing. Long story short, some kids at the playground knew the suspect's first name and the Middle School from which he'd graduated, so Harpaz obtained a copy of the yearbook, identified him, and tracked him down on Facebook. After threatening to have him arrested, the unidentified thief revealed the bike's location, along with the combination for the lock. He also asked Harpaz, "Where do u live at?" but Harpaz knew better than to let him see her house for a minute. 
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Jake you're doing so much better at the Extra Extras. Keep it up!
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11-year old falling for that ruse, understandable. Adult hipster falling for that ruse, pathetic.
My parents would have yelled at me for falling for that at 11. Then they wouldn't have called the cops because losing the bike would have been my punishment for giving my bike to a thief.
Any adult who falls for that needs a brain transplant.
Good point. But nice work getting the bike back, it's almost too easy finding people today with the use of facebook.
While the adult in the linked story says he doesn't know why he gave the bike up, he clearly just doesn't want to admit that he was afraid of the 250-pound Hispanic guy with homemade tattoos who looked "like he was on the methadone program." He handed over the bike to avoid an escalation of the situation. He knew it wasn't coming back.
Basically it was a robbery without having to touch the victim or even explicitly threaten him, but it happens that way all the time... jut through an intimidating approach.
"Where do u live at?"
That's threatening, and I absolutely would have had the kid arrested after that.
"If you file a police report, we'll have to arrest him. Just wait a few days. You'll get the bike back."
Yeah, god forbid the punk thief learns that stealing someone else's property is illegal and could get him arrested.
And how did the cop know he would get the bike back?
And then the next time, that punk's older brother will put some lead into your son next because its "familia" and "sangrar". Lesson of story, any NYC parks are gang infested turf battle fields reminiscent of 1970s subway bathrooms. Unless you have a uzi and a vest or appropriate gang colors, stay the fuck out.
LOL, You're thinking of Compton. This is Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Only 1.5 miles from Biggie's crib.
In NYC a neighborhood 1.5 miles away might as well be on a different planet.
Are you kidding? Do you have any idea how much paperwork the cops would have go fill in if they arrest the kid? You think any NYPD donut muncher wants to do all that work? Especially on typewriters.
"...but Harpaz knew better than to let him see her house for a minute."
Hahaha, classic.
Next headline on Gothamist:
"10 year old killed in Park Slope park for being a rat"
also good to know cops are completely worthless...
Cop probably knew the thief. Maybe even related -- that's why he had such a good hunch.
Oh, and I would have totally gone for the arrest. No mercy. And I would have proudly advertised that on facebook:
"I put some budding thug behind bars! Hooray justice :)"
That's the strangest sounding cop I have ever heard. I have had bikes stolen (no, not from falling for that trick) and it always annoys me that cops have told me and everyone else I know that there is no way we are ever seeing it again. I know I shouldn't expect to, but makes me wonder if they even try.
They don't. People are shot, cars are stolen, and peoples houses are broken into. The world continues to spin, and in a city of 20 million people, stolen bikes simply don't rate very high on the investigative police work list. And lord knows foot pads don't investigate shit, they're too busy handing out tickets to fund the next round of munchkin mobiles they buy for the traffic cops so they don't have to sweat as they cruise from car to car handing out tickets at random.
Even burglaries don't get investigated. The two rookie cops who showed up at my apartment after it got robbed were only interested in filling out the report and leaving. There wasn't even an attempt to feign interest in actually finding out who did it.
Yeah. My place was robbed once, and the cops basically acted like I was inconveniencing them when they showed up.
She should have had him arrested once she knew the location of the bike. Now, he'll just steal another one.
Nah. The guy's been made. He knows that if he does it again and somebody describes him, the mother will be able to finger him for the cops. Hope she has his Facebook info archived somewhere, since he probably removed it if he has half a brain.
Did Marcia Brady also get her Hula Hoop back?