WA Police planting e-scooters as bait at shopping centres to catch thieves (www.abc.net.au)

submitted 15 hours ago by Longmactoppedup@aussie.zone to c/perth@aussie.zone

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[-] HalfEarthMedic@slrpnk.net 14 points 15 hours ago

Dr Monterosso said it was difficult to find statistics to show whether this method of proactive policing reduced crime.

In order for it to be plausible that it would reduce crime the police would need to be open about the fact that they are using this tactic. The only reason more than a handful of people actually know about this is the sound journalism by Mya Kordic

It may be legal but it is thoroughly immoral and one suspects if it was a white kid with wealthy parents it would've been chucked out.

[-] Longmactoppedup@aussie.zone 18 points 11 hours ago

How is it immoral?

I loathe the fact that to go to my local shops I have to drive my fucking car because there is a high chance that some fuckwit will steal my bike or scooter if I lock it at the entrance.

Fuck people who steal bikes and scooters. All they are doing is grabbing on to people barely one rung up the societal ladder than they are and pulling them down.

Go steal from a large corporation instead if you want sympathy.

[-] HalfEarthMedic@slrpnk.net 4 points 4 hours ago

There are ways of doing this without entrapment. If they want to catch bike and scooter thieves they can stake out the bike racks. I suspect no sane person leaves their bike unlocked there so they have to contrive an artificial situation to entice someone to commit a crime. How is this valuable policing? Had the police not bought a scooter and left it unlocked no crime would've been committed.

I have no illusions that the young fellow in question is an upstanding citizen but how is public interest served here? One kid gets a fine and arguably may hesitate before doing the same thing again but the problem is not this one kid, it is systemic and were it not for this news article no-one would even know about it meaning it is useless even for deterrence.

It is a waste of everyone's time, drags a kid who likely already has a shit life through the courts further alienating him, and did not even protect the property of a real person.

[-] skribe@piefed.au 4 points 7 hours ago

In Singas, some people don't even bother locking their bikes. Others will just slip a chain with a combination lock through the back wheel. Almost none of them get filched. They'd be gone very quickly in Perth.

[-] Nath@aussie.zone 12 points 14 hours ago

A $250 fine and a stern talking to basically is being chucked out.

Nobody enticed the dude to commit a crime. He's a big boy who made that decision all by himself. Simply being in position to catch people who made that choice is not entrapment.

[-] HalfEarthMedic@slrpnk.net 3 points 4 hours ago

The police deliberately created an opportunity for a crime to be committed, had they not created that situation the crime would not have been committed. It is a textbook case of entrapment. You may think it's valid, but it is entrapment.

[-] Nath@aussie.zone 3 points 3 hours ago

You're essentially saying that it is entirely reasonable for an escooter left outside the shops to be stolen. I disagree with that take. People should be able to park their bike/scooter/whatever, duck inside for a few essentials and expect their ride to still be out the front of the shops when they come out. That you think they can't speak poorly of your attitude to people in your community.

For what it's worth, I agree with you that the risk of my bike being stolen outweighs the benefits of me taking it to the shops. So I suppose I'm in the same boat as you in a way. But cases like this may make opportunistic thieves reconsider that theft. Which I can only see as a good thing. I always feel guilty when I take the car for a small shop. I live close enough that the bike would be quicker and easier than driving if I could trust it not to get stolen.

The dude committed a crime. The fact that the police set the scenario up is completely beside that simple point. That's a decision entirely in his own hands and at some point, a grown adult needs to take responsibility for their actions.

[-] HalfEarthMedic@slrpnk.net 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

No, it is of course a shitty thing to do to steal a scooter. What I am saying is that this is an unreasonable way for police to behave. See my other comment in this thread.

With regards to this being a deterrent to other thieves, how? The police didn't let anyone know they were doing it and didn't let anyone know after the fact, the only reason anyone knows about it is that an investigative reporter dug it up.

[-] jillL@theblower.au 2 points 11 hours ago

@HalfEarthMedic it would be interesting to know if the police pull this shit in the Western Suburbs. I doubt it.

[-] quokka1@mastodon.au 3 points 11 hours ago

@Longmactoppedup I know that shopping centre. And it can be a bit of an adventure/stabby.
But knowingly taking something that's not yours is immoral.

[-] macaw_dean_settle@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago

*centers. Not centrees or centrays.

[-] No1@aussie.zone 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

The eshays hang out in the centrays, untcay.

[-] johnwicksdog@aussie.zone 10 points 12 hours ago

I'll take for granted your error was in good faith. Words are written differently outside of the USA. If this was written in America, it would use the American spelling "center", however it was written in Australia, which uses the British spelling "centre".

If you're interested, the spelling is derived from Middle French "centre", which became part of English post Norman conquest. However, in the early 19c the American lexicographer, Noah Webster simplified many words to be more phonetical and these were adopted by the US. Most of the Commonwealth countries will still use the British spellings.

[-] Gorgritch_umie_killa@aussie.zone 4 points 10 hours ago

Oh wow, i didn't know the Noah Webster bit, thats really interesting!

[-] maniacalmanicmania@aussie.zone 8 points 14 hours ago

Where are you from?

[-] PDFuego@lemmy.world 5 points 12 hours ago

Don't bother, check their history. Absolutely not worth engaging with them.

[-] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 1 points 11 hours ago

Thank you for the heads up. Guns try and keep my hate boner at bay and ignore this idiot

this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2025

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