Yahoo News Moped crime in London halved after police introduce tough measures to ram suspects
Moped crime in London has more than halved since tough measures were introduced to allow police to ram suspects from their bikes, figures reveal.
The Metropolitan Police said the number of moped crimes had fallen by 53.7% in the year since they were given the new powers.
The force said there were 20,973 moped crimes between July 2017 and June 2018, but that fell to 9,723 between July 2018 and June 2019.
Police were given powers to knock suspected criminals off their mopeds in November 2018.
In May 2019, the force said that apprehending a 12-strong gang who used mopeds to carry out a number of raids across London had helped cut crime significantly.
The Metropolitan Police also revealed that the number of bike thefts have fallen in the same period.
Between July 2017 and June 2018, there were 11,395 bike thefts, but the following year that figure fell to 8,847 - a drop of 22.4%.
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The force released the figures while reminding owners to ‘lock, chain and cover’ their mopeds and scooters.
Chief Inspector Jim Corbett, from Operation Venice, which tackles moped and motorcycle crime, said: “Officers from Operation Venice continue to tackle those that steal mopeds and scooters for criminal activity, and whilst we are making excellent headway on this, we continue to remind owners that they can help us by protecting their vehicles.
“A number of owners continue to park their scooters and motorcycles with minimal security measures – often only using a steering lock to prevent them from being stolen.
“It only takes seconds for a thief to steal one, if it is unprotected.
“That is why we have relaunched our campaign to encourage owners to protect their vehicle using ‘Lock, Chain and Cover’.
“Using additional security reduces the chances of your bike being stolen, which is reduced even further if multiple security measures are used.”
He added: “It’s great to see that the number of vehicles stolen and the vehicles used in crime have reduced so much, however we are not complacent and there is more work that can be done to reduce this further.
