THAT’S a stolen bike,” said Kees Bos, a Groningen police officer assigned to tracking down stolen bicycles, adding that they were not too difficult to spot.

“I’m sure it’s stolen,” he said, while pointing to the brown Batavus bicycle.

Bos said it displayed three features that were characteristic of stolen bikes. First, the bicycle lock was open but the key was not in its place. If the lock is open, Bos said, under normal conditions