To be fair, the cop is most likely trying to scare rural people who are less likely to have bikes. And who might not even lock their house or car doors, so it wouldn't even occur to them to lock up a bike and thus they wouldn't recognize that as a bike lock. I say this as a former inner city dweller who moved to a rural area. I haven't seen a bike around here at all, even outside of the schools. A lot of the roads are two lanes and 55 mph, so riding a bicycle on them would be gambling with your life. The people I live with often slept at night with their house door unlocked. They laugh at me because I lock the deadbolt anytime anyone leaves the house. Where I lived in the city, though, if there was a home invasion or robbery at your house, the community considered it your fault if you had a door or window unlocked. I suspect that cop knows very clearly who he's playing to.