Yes. I’ve done this before, with a bicycle specifically. Found a stolen bike, and chased the thief until the cops took over. They showed up FAST, multiple units with lights and sirens. They treat it as an active crime if you know where the goods are rather than an investigation.

>In many places, the police won't do anything

Calling the police would be more to deter stalking than to help with theft recovery. Knowing that the police will automatically be notified if the tracker gets set to stealth mode would be enough to deter many stalkers.

>Are you going to track down and confront the thieves who stole your bike?

I wouldn’t confront thieves but I certainly would track down where the bike gets ridden and take it back when it’s somewhere (semi) public. Years ago, a friend’s bike got stolen and by sheer luck we saw it a couple weeks later locked to a bike rack. We got some bolt cutters and took it.

Pro tip: the cops will help you if you call them and say “hey, I’m outside (address) and I can see my stolen bike, I’m going to go retrieve my property, let me know if you want to help. Also I’m armed.”

They’ll help.

This is terrible advice - and it is also incorrect.

Police will respond, most assuredly, if you declare this intention, but you will be at best a complicating factor and at worst an additional deadly threat.

Finally, if it was all a ruse you could find yourself in serious legal jeopardy if any violent - or deadly - outcomes ensue.

In free states, it’s common and not a big deal to tell dispatchers & police that you’re armed. Usually the cops will just ask where your weapon is, then say “cool, don’t shoot me and I won’t shoot you”. Not a big deal. They’re generally not concerned about people who voluntarily surrender their element of surprise.

Yep. Call the police and tell them you're about to create a potentially deadly situation over some property you claim to own. What could possibly go wrong?

There are people who have "stuff" that's not always with them, stored elsewhere, used infrequently, etc. I've got AirTags on these things just so I have something that can easily identify where they've been moved if they happen to be.

So, yes - I'd use the tags location to track the item because the items wouldn't be easy to hide. And as others have said if you've located your stolen property the police will respond during an active situation.

I use AirTags and my main phone is not Apple. So if Tile comes out with a more targeted approach for this "stuff" of mine I'd be willing to drop AirTags because of the annoying beeping when "lost" and other issues the walled garden creates.

Knowing exactly where something is seems like the only thing that will make the police do anything more than take a couple of prints for minor theft (at least around here).