Record number of illegal e-bikes seized in Met crackdown on phone thefts

A new style of testing kit is being used to catch illegal e-bike riders, as the Met Police celebrate theft dropping by half in London.

The Met seized 29 e-bikes and seven e-scooters by Tottenham Court Road Station on Friday as part of Operation Lexand.

Officers specifically targeted illegal electric two-wheelers as part of a wider Met initiative to tackle phone theft and neighborhood crime.

It comes as stats released show phone theft

To help efficiently test if a vehicle is illegal, new technology was used to measure whether they could propel themselves faster than 15.5mph through electrically assisted pedals, batteries or throttles.

Commander Neerav Patel, who was overseeing the operation said: ‘We’ve heard loud and clear that Londoners are fed up of the criminal and antisocial use of e-bikes.

‘We recognize that the use of e-bikes [can be] perfectly legitimate, but there are a vast number of people intent on using e-bikes for criminal and anti-social uses. We know that e-bikes are used in phone snatches, particularly in this part of London.’

Two arrests were made during the operation, including one for assaulting an emergency worker and another for public order offenses, theft and recall to prison.

The Met is one of just two police forces in the country, alongside Nottinghamshire, to deploy the ‘rolling roads’ technology.

They have two Dynostar and two more portable Wenger test kits that act as treadmills to quickly determine whether a vehicle is legally compliant.

Officers can pull over bikes they suspect to be non-compliant, with common red flags being speed, the use of throttles that enable users to travel at speed without pedalling and big, potentially strapped-on batteries.

Commander Patel added: ‘We’ll stop riders that we have a reasonable suspicion over the bike, which will be put into the device.

‘This is no different to somebody jumping on a motorcycle without license, without any safety gear, without any insurance as far as the law’s concerned.’

‘What we are doing is clearly working. Phone theft in the West End, increasingly perpetrated by thieves riding illegal e-bikes, has nearly halved. We’ll continue to do everything we can to make London an even safer city for everyone to enjoy.’

Superintendent Luke Baldock, who was Mr Patel’s second-in-command on the operation, said: ‘Usually we get a lot of grief when we’re out like this but it’s been night and day.

‘Just speaking to the members of the public passing by, everyone is saying thank goodness you’re doing something about this. We took a roadshow to all of the 32 boroughs and one of the main issues the public always complained about was speed bikes.

‘They go far too fast, so they’re dangerous. It makes people unsafe because they enable other types of crime like robbery.

‘We’re using the “rolling road” solution. That means we’re detecting more illegal e-bikes [and it’s] allowing us to seize many more.’

Some of the bikes seized, made by brands such as Engwe, Fiido, Hitway and Super73, recorded speeds in excess of 27 miles per hour.

By seizing more of them, the Met said it is reducing local crime, with neighborhood offenses down by 14% in the 12 months to June compared with the previous year in London – the equivalent of 35,000 fewer reported offenses.

This includes 23,311 fewer thefts from person – down 23% – and 2,943 fewer personal robberies – 11% lower.

Mr Baldock added that an increased number of seized bikes has prompted them to start talks with charities and prisons to give young people work de-assembling the bikes and making them road safe, while Mr Patel said educational work was being done with the gig economy.

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