[0:01]You see this and you wonder, did he lose his keys or is he blatantly stealing that bike? in broad daylight, he hammers. And then saws on the chain. When that doesn't work, he pulls out an industrial sized bolt cutter. And when he's asked, he fesses up. Uh, no, not exactly. But he's not a real thief. Justin Kelly is an actor and our hidden cameras are rolling. Uh, nothing. I just, I can't get through the lock. I mean, I know this is weird, but you wouldn't happen to know whose bike this is, do you? No. All right. Good. Thank you. While the scene troubles Tim Lucas enough to turn around for a second look, he's in a family outing. His wife looks alarmed too but they both move on. Colleen, my wife, she's like he's totally stealing that bike. She was like call the cops. It turns out Lucas is a pastor, but our thief's confession is safe with him. It was odd that somebody had all that that equipment. But you didn't do anything. No. That's true. That's the bottom line. Lots of people stop and stare. A few even questioned the actor. I just have to ask, is that your bike? I guess technically no. Okay. Bye. Good luck. Bye. When no one tries to stop our thief, he ratchets it up a notch with an electric saw, even putting on a pair of goggles. That finally catches the attention of Arlene Mennard and her husband George. You're not stealing it, right? No, why? It's not your bike, is it? I just want to know if it's your bike. No, it's not my bike, but it's not yours, so what do you care? It may be next time. It's not yours. I'll just let somebody know. As Arlene sets off to find help, we decide to clue the couple in on our experiment. I think most people don't want to get involved in a situation like this, and so they just pass it by. George is right. In over an hour, about a hundred people pass by. Only George and Arlene try to stop him. Some tell us they plan to call the police later. Others say they're scared, keep moving. This woman and her friends give our thief the benefit of the doubt. When we ask why, Beesaw Washington tells us first impressions matter. I remember thinking, young white men don't usually carry burglary tools. So we all make assumptions, huh? I'm thinking maybe he works for the park, and our thoughts were if he'd been black or a person of color, the police would have been called in immediately. We're going to do that experiment with an African American kid. What do you think's going to happen? Oh, I think people would be very distressed. I think someone's going to whip out their cell phone and call the police. Will they? We replace our white thief with this young man, Matlock. Remember both actors dress in a similar way and are about the same age. Is that your bike? Uh, nah. So why are you cutting the chain for? Right away. Right away somebody yelled. Wow. Within seconds another person confronts our thief. Is that your bike? No. Technically it's not, but it's going to be mine. More people converge.
[3:37]Are you taking that bike, that your bike? Uh, no, it's not sir. Oh, why are you doing this? Is this, I mean, is this any of our bikes? Is this your bike? It's my, it's, it's, it belongs to someone. No, but whoever's it is, it belongs to someone. So who? Well, not to you. And sure enough, one man whips out a cell phone to call 911. There's someone taking a bike here. Our actor triggers more reactions. Some people are even snapping pictures for evidence.
[4:09]You don't steal on the bike. Whose bike's over here? Once everyone moves away, we reset our cameras. And within minutes another outraged man is yelling. Excuse me, sir, but the bike's been here for, for, for days. Like, no one's going to take it. Well, that's not your bike then. Yeah. You can't just come and take something from somebody. Excuse me, sir. I'm, I'm. Okay. I'll just take your tools away then. Is yours, sir? Please sir. Please sir. Please sir. Don't touch my stuff, sir. Please sir, do not touch my stuff. Please. Oh, you're taking somebody else's. Yeah, yeah. All right, but this has been, this has been here, like who's going to take it? Well, that doesn't make it your property. Technically it does. If you. No, it doesn't technically. David. It's not yours. Oh, right, sir. When we bring out our cameras, David Rob wants us to go after the thief. That kid in the red shirt. He's hacking away at a bike that's not his. And he has a right to take it and steal it. And he's come here with tools, obviously. I know sir. Uh my name is John Kinyones and this is part of a TV show called what would you do? You were pretty upset. I was. It's important that we speak up in these situations. I think so. It seems like the right thing to do. Everyone insists that justice is colorblind. Did the race of the culprit have anything to do with it? Not at all. He could have been any color. And it wouldn't have mattered to me. I think it was taking a bike that wasn't his, not what his color was. Maybe, but take another look at how people passed right by the white actor, but not the black actor.
[5:42]Matlock sits nearby, stunned by what just happened. These racial stereotypes are infused in all of us. I mean, it's part of our culture. So whether you're black or white, you associate crime with blacks, and you associate whites with being good. Jack Devideo, psychology professor at Yale University. Whether we believe it, whether we notice it, whether we acknowledge it, race is affecting what I see, what I think, what I do. says we all seize openings to reassure ourselves that we're not biased. Lost your keys? Yeah, actually, I did, my key. So when given an opening, like this lost key explanation, people may respond kindly. Challenging the actor might come off as racist. So, I get the back, you get the front. Thank you, sir. But when we come back, you won't believe what happens when our thief is not a guy, but a woman. This woman.
[6:49]She may not look like your average bike thief, but actress Ashley Carpenter makes sure anyone who asks knows she's up to no good. You're not stealing it, are you? Stealing is an interesting word to use, but it's definitely not my bike. And just in case he didn't hear her the first time. Cops. Because it's not technically my bike but I still need the bike. Remember our other bike thieves? The white actor barely causes a second glance. Our black actor draws angry crowds. And with Ashley, well, take a look. Need a hand with that? Need a hand? You don't know who this is, do you? Whose bike it is? Yeah. Why are you trying to steal someone's bike? With a little help from Ed Fitzsimmon, the bike chain easily falls away. Oh my goodness, what a strong man you are. It all happens as his friend stands nearby watching. These are special tools for bike lifting. Okay. I can do anything anyone can do. You sort of helped her steal the bike. Exactly. You want to fight about it? Okay, just checking. Ed says he is no accomplice, he's just courteous, old fashioned. Helping a damsel in distress. And he isn't the only man who stops in his tracks. What's this guy thinking? You know, you pull up, you don't know if she lost her key. If she's trying to actually take the bike, but then again, she's a girl. And you don't usually see a girl doing that. Still? You never know. Most of the time it's a guy going to do something like that. Appearance matters deeply. And when the thief looks like this, men behave irrationally. According to Yale Professor Jack DeVito. Attractiveness means somebody is good and healthy and desirable. She doesn't look very threatening. She doesn't look any threatening, but she also doesn't look like she's bad. Beautiful is good. So how can a good person do something bad? Sir, do you know how to use these at all? I just have to get the chain off. To cut the chain off? Yeah. Um, I have no idea how to cut a chain. Really? I've never stolen a bike before. I'm just kidding. I.
[9:16]No wonder he asks us not to show his face. Assisting our thief. First with clippers, then finding the chain's quick release. Awesome. Thanks. Yeah. No problem. Justice doesn't stand a chance. Men are helpless against Ashley's good looks and her sweet lies. Excuse me. Yeah, yeah, can you help me? What's wrong? I, I can't get the, the chain off this bike. What's wrong? Is it your bike, though? Is it your bike? Does it matter whose bike it is? I just can't get the chain off. I guess it doesn't matter.
[9:56]I don't know why you just stopped for nothing. Well, I really appreciate it.
[10:02]Thank you so much. I was shocked that they helped me out so much. If you were really stealing that bike, I would have gotten away with it. With an accomplice or two or three or four. Yes, I would have had two or three accomplices. And all of those accomplices are men. But will women let her get away with this? Watch Colleen Grasso. After passing by, she calls for help. 911, where's your emergency? It looks like someone's trying to steal a bicycle. She's a little petite blonde girl. Later, Eileen Smith spots the petite blonde and makes a quick assessment. This is not right. She's stealing. I mean, she's stealing a bike. But now watch Eileen's husband, Reginald pedals right past his appalled wife, straight to our actress, asking her if she needs a hand. Need a hand?
[10:53]Okay, I'll eventually get it. I did some time in Holloway, I can steal this. Oh, you can steal it? You can help me steal it. First Reginald lifts the sign, freeing up the bike. But our actress still can't ride with a locked chain. Dumbstruck, Eileen tries to alert her husband. I'm going to call the police right now. But Reg ignores his wife and clips the chain. That's awesome. We've got the feeling that for Reg, it's going to be a very long night. And yet he swears he was just trying to be a good Samaritan. You saw her, she needed help. Right? Yeah, so it needed help. But then she made it clear. She said. Yeah, yeah, I don't have a bike. I need a bike. When I picked up the sign, then it started to click, but what can you do? Good question. So your advice is we should stop, we should think, we should pause, we should be rational, and then we should do the right thing. Well, I really appreciate it. For guys, easier said than done when the criminal looks like this.
