Re:What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?
by tkresident on Tuesday August 28, 2012 @05:57PM
(#4446086)
Having had two regular bicycles stolen over ten years in Tokyo, I would disagree that the problem is non-existent in Japan, though street crime is indeed relatively rare. Bicycles are commonly used by the majority of people. Authorities need staff dedicated to keeping streets near stations from getting clogged up with secured bikes. An unsecured bicycle near a station might be used as a free ride home by a drunken salaryman, but rarely stolen as a cash generator I guess.
No social safety net really exists in Japan. Yet in general, Japanese would not even consider crime when in financial dire straits. I don't believe this has as much to do with enforcement as acute social awareness.
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Re:What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?
by stcredzero on Tuesday August 28, 2012 @06:26PM
(#4446189)
Much of the fabric of American society has dissolved. This is a kind of social capital which is very powerful and hard to quantify. (It's also threatening to certain governments for precisely this reason.)
Re:What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?
by fghh45sdfhr3 on Wednesday August 29, 2012 @10:12AM
(#4448591)
Having had two regular bicycles stolen over ten years in Tokyo, I would disagree that the problem is non-existent in Japan
Two bicycles over ten years compared to how many you would get stolen in the US is "nothing".
That's the problem when comparing crime rates in the US and Japan, people in Japan still feel like there's tons of crime. I suggest you spend a couple of years living in a large US city. I hear San Francisco is very nice.
I don't think being in financial dire straits is usually a reason for people to turn to crime anywhere in the world. Usually the "conversion" to criminal activities happens before they reach financial issues. The whole link between unemployment <-> crime does not make sense in most cases. There are many ways to survive before resorting to crime.