How to steal a bike in NYC

Perhaps. Here's an old video about stealing bikes in NYC: ▶ this video Note that the guy is hacking away at the lock and the police show up. To tell him to not sit in an active traffic lane.

Bit of a difference from harsh punishment not deterring theft of something you need to live vs. theft of something like a bike. When the punishments for stealing anything at all are as severe as hanging, exile, or losing a hand, do you really expect much else besides necessities to be stolen? I suppose you still might expect all sorts of things to be stolen if the chance of getting caught is nil, as it is with bikes -- you still need a strong enough probability of getting caught to back up whatever punishment is decreed, which is why bait bikes can be a helpful tool. I doubt better locks would work, I remembered this video from years ago on how even ridiculous methods of stealing a bike won't get much attention: ▶ this video (And if they did, a thief can probably convince most people it's their own bike and they lost the key/combo -- I kind of suspect that possibility goes through the minds of onlookers anyway.)

stealing - reminds me of this video showing indifference in NYC (even with cops in sight).(substitute NYC with any major city) ▶ this video