There is now a crime playlist on the channel if you are interested as well. From October 2024+ (previous crimes videos are in the people playlist).
#crime
#crimeuk
#ebikes
#ebikesUK
There are calls for tougher legislation around illegally modified electric bicycles which are being used to commit crimes. Currently, anyone over the age of 14 can ride an ebike at speeds of up to 15 mph, but police are warning of a large number of bikes being converted to travel much faster. Our reporter Hannah Walsh has more. The consequences of the illegal use of ebikes. This rider was captured knocking over a teenager on the aisle of white. She wasn’t seriously hurt. In Paul, the neighborhood policing team have been increasing patrols to catch offenders. It didn’t take long before two teenagers were seen riding through a residential area [Music] on Russ. Two young males, one strike on left in blackie up. She sees this bike, we’ve shown it can get about 45 miles an hour. It’s especially dangerous. And what we’ve also now learned from talking to the young people involved in riding this and from looking at the bike is it’s got no brakes. So there’s people going around up to speeds of 45 miles an hour with no brakes. It’s it’s a big it’s a big danger to everyone involved. We’re quite often seeing them on high streets in in busy populated areas. Um we saw earlier how fast those bikes go. Some of them in excess of 40 miles an hour, some faster than that. um that the majority, like I said, are untrained people on on these bikes as well as targeted patrols. Dorset police are triing a forensic spray to mark riders who may be committing antisocial behavior. This is a forensic spray in a can. Um every can is uniquely identifiable. Um if an officer out on patrol has called to deploy it, then they’d seize that can. Um we then look to carry out that investigation to identify the individual or individuals responsible for that kind of behavior. Um and as part of that investigation, we would look to be um seizing and swabbing clothing and bikes, sending that off for forensic testing. And there’s absolutely no doubt that that bike is the one that’s seen by that officer at that time. So it’s specifically unique to um that uh individual case. Julie White Cross from Phum has suffered tragedy because of an illegal ebike. Earlier this year, her husband Lee was walking their dog Safy when it was hit and killed by an ebike rider. went whizzing by. Next minute, Safy screamed. We can only imagine that he’s either kicked her as he’s gone by or he’s turned the bike wheel. My hubby was absolutely horrified as you can imagine. She just looked up at him for a few seconds and she just died in his arms, which is really difficult to think that she loves people and somebody took her life. Back in Pool, the illegal ebikes are seized, collected, and brought to Eastley in Hampshire, where they’re crushed. This is really completing the journey that our communities don’t want these in their community. They don’t want the antisocial behavior attached to it. And it’s really sending out that message that this is something we’re not going to tolerate. A lot of the time we will post on social media about our seizures. A lot of the replies will be you don’t do anything about it or you give them back. This today shows that they’re not going back to the people that are riding it and causing antisocial behavior. And this is the final outcome. Current laws state ebikes can only assist a rider whilst they’re pedaling and only up to 15 12 mph. The motor is limited to 250 W. Bournemouth MP Tom Hayes is campaigning for tougher laws around the use of ebikes. I’m calling on the government to introduce mandatory registration and licensing. I’m calling on the government to have harsher import controls and to make sure because people are concerned about battery safety that we’ve got the highest standard of battery safety, too. The government says there are strict regulations for ebikes and if these aren’t met, the bikes will be seized. Hannah Walsh reporting there. We can speak now to the conservative police and crime commissioner for the Tempame’s Valley, Matthew Barber. Matthew Barber, good morning to you. Um how I mean we saw there the impact that these bikes illegally modified can have the impact they can have on people. Um what powers do you have at the moment to stop those who are using these bikes forget not just for crimes but just for drive cycling around beyond the speed limits they’re supposed to be at. So so the powers are there for the police to to seize the illegally modified ebikes. But of course having a power doesn’t make it practically easy. Obviously, obviously see if you’re a police officer out and about and you see someone on ebike, you won’t nely know that ebike has been modified until it’s already traveling at excessive speeds at which point you’ve got to try and stop that person, detain them, seize the bike. Um, which is why you’ve seen uh Dorset police using uh that forensic spray. I think the the issues around registration are uh really interesting because if of course if you’re driving your car uh most of the offenses that people will be be caught by uh drive poor driving when they’re driving a car will actually be linked with their registration. you’ll get a letter through the post later, you’re identified by the police because of your registration. We don’t have that on ebikes or e- scooters. Um, you know, that is a real challenge I think for policing and something the government should be looking at. And in terms of registration, what efforts have been or what interaction has there been with the government or response when it comes to that suggestion? Well, at the moment the government seem quite resistant to it. I think there is a a challenge about um uh some in the cycling lobby who who are concerned that the uh the registration sort of moves into push bikes. Uh but I think there is definitely a need for a wholesale look at the legislation around this. Not just about ebikes. There’s ebikes there’s e- scooters uh which of course are illegal to use if they’re privately owned but if they’re part of a council scheme um then they can be insured. So they they are allowed and a lot of people say well why can’t I just get my own insurance for one? Those trials were there exactly as that trials. So the government needs to decide are they going to accept the the results of those trials and change the law to allow them to be uh to be more readily used. And we’ve also got at the other end mopeds uh maybe a little bit less common now we have ebikes but you delivery drivers using mopeds to deliver were just on a provisional license um uh without you without having even passed a driving test in in order to to use that for work. So I think we need to look at all of these in the round. But of course it’s not just about the vehicles. The police enforcement is very much about the type of vehicle that’s being used. It’s the behavior of individuals on them. There are lots of people who can ride a legally ebike perfectly reasonably and safely and they’re very good ways of getting around uh contest congested towns and cities, but we’ve got individuals who are riding recklessly and dangerously. And that’s the bit that we really need to tackle because it’s just dangerous behavior. Uh good morning, Mr. Barbara. It’s Charlie in the studio here. Just curious about the manufacturers either of the bikes themselves or of those kits that are used to adapt. Do you think enough is being done to check what they’re what are their manufacturing, what they’re making available? No, I think that’s absolutely part of the problem about what are the import controls, what are the controls on sale of uh these things, particularly the kits for modification u because we need to be stopping this at source. It’s very much like the e- scooter problem uh where you can go into Halfords or Curries, spend a few hundred pound and buy an e- scooter and as soon as you take it out the store, you’ve got nowhere in public that you can legally ride it. That not unreasonably causes some confusion for the public. If I can get hold of it, why can’t I use it? And I think we need clarity uh from the government on this. I’m not instinctively someone who wants to ban things. Uh but what we do need uh is to make sure that the regulation actually matches the intent and at the moment we have a real concern in many communities about the way these vehicles are being used. They’re definitely linked in many cases to uh criminality and yet the legislation just hasn’t caught up. I just wonder what your personal experience is. Have you been in situations where you felt, you know, a risk from uh one of these ebikes going too fast? And also I just wonder what you recommend people do. you know, if they’re in a situation they see someone doing that, what should you do? Well, I would say certainly if you’ve got any uh any footage, any mobile phone footage, if you’ve got a description of someone, I would say report those to the police. You know, in Temp’s Valley, we’ve we’ve increased the number of uh seizures, 118 just in the last uh month. Uh that is starting to make a difference, but we can’t just enforce our way out of it. And I think many people will have seen that experience of uh people riding on pavements through pedestrian areas um dangerously recklessly. I have to say it’s not just about ebikes. It can be pushed bikes as well. That’s why I think it’s the behavior that that we need to look at. But we do know there are you a group of people who will illegally modify these bikes. You’ve seen in that um in that clip some of the dangerous um uh modifications that people will make. You know, vehicles traveling at 40 40 plus miles an hour with no brakes. you know, they’ll be riding through um residential areas. That is inherently dangerous and it’s something the police need to tackle. Matthew Barber, just I mean, we’ve been we’ve spoken on this program over the years about mopeds, you know, and criminals on mopeds kind of dashing through towns, snatching phones being used for crime. Ebikes now replacing these because they are cheaper. Absolutely. It’s a it’s a vehicle of choice for criminals and that’s why I think we need to have a look in the legislation at that wider piece. I don’t think we should ignore mopeds. they are still uh they’re still an issue. That point about being able to uh ride one for deliveries uh with just a provisional license. Um but this is why we need to look at it because it’s not just about road safety. Important though that is I don’t want to stop people using uh using ebikes and e scooters legally to commute around town. But we have to recognize they are used quite significantly by criminals whether that’s the phone snatching whether that’s uh for uh drug dealing. Um and they create a challenge for the police to uh enforce against. So we need the legislation to match the police action on the ground in order to deal with those people who will be dangerous and criminal using these vehicles and allow those people who want to use them for getting around to be able to do so safely and legally. Matthew Barber, police and crime commissioner for the Temp’s Valley. Thank you very much for your time with us here on BBC Breakfast.