Editor's note: This is another report in an occasional series on unusual events or people found by The Bee's police reporters and editors.

From Ed Fletcher

Last week, Rocklin's Police Department issued a press release reporting that detectives navigated the popular online free classified web site Craigslist.com to catch a bike theft.

"Detectives, posing as potential buyers, contacted the Lincoln-area seller. The stolen bike was identified by distinctive markings and it was recovered for the victim. The case has been forwarded to the Placer County District Attorney's Office for possession of stolen property charges," reads the Nov. 25 press release from Detective Sgt. Scott Horrillo.

The bike - valued at $1,000 - was stolen the evening Nov. 16 from the back of the victim's truck while it was parked at the Sierra College dorm parking lot.

Could anyone not named Lance Armstrong one expect similar service from the Sacramento Police Department - the area's largest police department?

One sacbee.com reader responding to the Sacto911 blog post thinks not.

"I had two very valuable, custom-built bicycles stolen a few years back and the Sacramento PD wouldn't even respond to my call," wrote epremack.

In 2008, some 616 bikes were reported stolen to the Sacramento Police Department, reports Norm Leong, a spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department. Through August, 404 bikes had been reported swiped, putting the city on pace to reach that number again.

While there is a clear disparity in how Rocklin treats stolen bikes compared to Sacramento, the chasm isn't as deep as the impression you'd get from the press release.

Rocklin officers do take police reports on stolen bikes. While Sac PD ask victims to come to them or fill out a form online, but like Sacramento, Rocklin's PD they don't regularly assign a detective to investigate, said Lon Milka, a spokesman for the Rocklin Department.

"We don't recover that many that are stolen, maybe 20 percent," said Milka.

He said in the last 12 months they had 42 bikes reported stolen, 19 of which were recovered. He said the previous 12 months were not as good with 42 bikes stolen and 9 recovered.

In the November incident, a detective was assigned because the victim - who had his bike's serial number - had already found the hot bike posted for sale on craigslist.

Leong said Sac PD might do the same thing, assuming detectives aren't too busy.

"It's all based on priority calls and the availability of detectives," Leong said. "It's not out of the realm (of possibility), but were a lot busier than Rocklin or Roseville."

In February, Lance Armstrong's time-trial bike (photo left is of the bike after it was recovered by police) was stolen from a truck behind a downtown hotel while he was competing in the Amgen Tour of California. The bike, valued at more than $10,000, was eventually recovered when the person who bought the stolen bike turned it in.

In June, the two men arrested in the theft were sentenced for their roles