Lock up your strollers!

Over the weekend in the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper there was a story entitled "Police recommend locking up your strollers".

There are ongoing thefts of strollers from public places in the capital region that prompted the warning. In Malmi, the police log about 1 - 2 lost stroller cases a week. However, cities such as Tampere, Oulu and Kuopio have extremely low incidences of theives taking baby carriages.

I was surprised to read the case of a woman in Espoo whose stroller was stolen from inside the fenced yard of the daycare center (the thieves also dug through the other strollers). Her insurance eventually covered it. Other hotspots are stairwells in apartment buildings.

The police did not have an theories on what theives might be doing with stolen strollers, but commented that the used stroller market on the internet is brisk. Hmmmm. This is probably the best way to dump a hot stroller and prices can be in the range of several hundred euros so there is some money to be made.

Both the police and insurance companies suggest securing strollers much like bicycles - with a lock attached to the main body of the stroller and connected to an immoveable object, such as a pole or building.