Woman, 44, turns detective and ‘steals back’ her £700 bicycle after police refused to help
- Sharon Jenson’s bicycle was stolen from Kingston High Street in London
- She spotted the bike for sale online a few days later and contacted the seller
- Mrs Jenson managed to get his address but police refused to accompany her
- She riskily went to the man’s house anyway and retrieved her bike by asking for a ‘test drive’ and cycling off
Sharron Jenson took matters into her own hands when police refused to help her retrieve her stolen bicycle
When her £700 bicycle was stolen from her local high street, Sharron Jenson not only told police but also turned detective herself.
She spotted the bike for sale online a few days later and followed officers’ advice to contact the thief as a potential buyer.
But despite getting his first name, an address and phone number, police refused to accompany her to the culprit’s home – forcing her to meet the thief alone and then ‘steal back’ her own bike by riding off on it.
And after she gave police a detailed description of the alleged criminal, they said there was ‘insufficient information to proceed with an investigation’ and closed the case.
A furious Mrs Jenson, 44, said last night: ‘It has made me realise how bad the state of policing is here.
‘It’s unbelievable that victims of crimes are having to investigate and then collect their own stolen items. And then nothing is done still. It makes me so angry.
‘No wonder criminals think they can get away with it – because they can.
‘I was nervous for weeks after I took it back. I didn’t sleep properly for days. I feel so angry and so helpless and feel like I am not safe.’
After her bike was stolen Mrs Jenson spotted the bike for sale online a few days later and followed officers’ advice to contact the thief as a potential buyer
Mrs Jenson’s bike was stolen from Kingston High Street in south-west London on July 20 and she immediately reported the theft to police.
She saw it for sale on Gumtree five days later and got back in touch with the Metropolitan Police, who told her to contact the seller posing as a buyer and arrange a viewing.
But despite getting his first name, an address and phone number, police refused to accompany her to the culprit’s home
‘They said to me to contact the guy, but not to go see him on my own. They said to stall him and tell them, and they could see if someone could go with me to get it,’ she said.
She asked the thief if she could see the bike at the weekend, but the man – who was selling multiple bikes for up to £800 – stopped replying and the bike was later removed from the website.
The next day she took screenshots from the website, with a first name and phone number, to police. She claims that after waiting for two hours at a police station the desk clerk told her: ‘We don’t have the manpower to look at these sorts of things.’
Nine days after her bike was first stolen it appeared again on Gumtree. She told police who simply told her ‘we’ve updated your case’, she said.
She then bought a cheap simcard and texted the seller offering £380 for the bike, which he had listed for £420.
The terrified housewife went alone to meet him on August 1, parking a few streets away.
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‘We met elsewhere and walked to the house. He asked me multiple times to go into the house but I said no,’ she said. ‘It was really frightening. I thought, “What am I doing?” I know he’s only a bike thief, but here I was confronting him. I was really nervous.’
She recognised that the bike was hers and asked if she could test ride it – she even thought to leave the man with an empty handbag she had brought along as a decoy.
Mrs Jenson’s bike was stolen from Kingston High Street in south-west London on July 20 and she immediately reported the theft to police
‘I was thinking, “This is so dangerous”, but I knew it was my only chance. I cycled away and got to the corner and thought, “It’s now or never”.
‘I pedalled harder and harder and went faster and faster. I saw he wasn’t following me and just kept going.’
She called 999 and claims that call handers said nobody could come to her but told her to take refuge in a public place.
She nipped into a corner shop, where the staff kept her bike while she fetched her car. The thief later texted her demanding she bring it back and then later called – but laughed and hung up when she told him the bike was hers and accused him of theft.
She contacted police once more, providing his name, the address he sold from, description and phone number – but she said officers told her ‘it was my word against his’.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘All information was reviewed and it was decided that there was insufficient information to proceed with an investigation.
‘The alleged victim has been made aware. There were no arrests in this case.’
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