Yahoo News Police use all-terrain scramblers to catch teenagers on illegal off-road motorbikes
Derbyshire Police are using specialist off-road dirt bikes to pursue criminals across the countryside.
A police force has unleashed a crack team of officers with all-terrain scramblers to catch youngsters on illegal motorbikes.
Derbyshire Police are using three specialist off-road dirt bikes to pursue criminals across the countryside.
Officers will use the new petrol-powered Honda CRFs to tackle nuisance and anti-social behaviour mainly caused by offenders riding illegal off-road motorbikes across wasteland areas.
The “lightweight and versatile” scramblers will be ridden by specially trained officers from the roads policing unit.
Adam Titterton, Sergeant in the Roads Policing Unit, said: “We’ve seen a rise in the number of reports we receive about the illegal use of motorbikes in some of Derbyshire’s most beautiful parks and countryside.
“Over the last few months, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to source scrambler bikes such as these, so that we have the tools to better target this antisocial behaviour.”
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The scramblers, which can be driven through water, will also help during searches for high-risk, missing and vulnerable people and respond to crime reports, such as drug dealing, in secluded locations.
The force has unveiled a video of the new bikes in action that shows them being used on rocky paths, muddy trails and parks, climbing steep slopes, and on conventional roads.
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Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster added: “These off-road bikes will help Derbyshire Constabulary’s police officers to tackle a raft of crimes which blight our neighbourhoods.
“They will play an important role in the work to tackle the anti-social and criminal use of motorcycles, as well as a range of rural problems such as machinery theft, trespass and poaching.
“It’s important that police officers are provided with the right equipment and training to tackle the changing nature of crime and anti-social behaviour and I am pleased to see my investment being used to address problems that are of concern to local communities.”
