Hampshire police and crime commissioner Donna Jones says electric bicycles “almost exclusively” linked to crime
Bikes with electric motors are being used “almost exclusively” in crime, say police.
Hampshire police and crime commissioner Donna Jones says the bikes, which cost thousands of pounds, are popular with criminals due to their “agility”.
Speaking at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime panel, she said “very few people who are riding them are not doing something wrong”.
She stressed it was not the “normal electric pedal bikes” but electric motorbikes with “big, thick rubber wheels”.
E-scooters are also being used to distribute drugs, making them a target for the police force, too.
The Conservative PCC said: “There are lots of people using them to push drugs around at speed, and they can stick it over their shoulder, collapse the scooter down, get the lift, go up, drop off, come down, and they’re off again. They are the ones that are being targeted.”
Those linked to criminal activities are being seized and crushed. PCC Jones said data released in January showed 112 electric scooters had been seized and crushed in 2024.
Regarding children using electric scooters to travel to school and college, Ms Jones said that police officers are expected to stop them and inform them that they are “committing an offence” since they “shouldn’t be using a private scooter”.
“You will be committing an offence if you ride a private scooter on the road because it’s not possible to get an MOT and insurance on them, so effectively, you are committing an offence. It could be an unintentional crime you’re committing as a 15-year-old if you’ve had one bought for you for your birthday.”
Therefore, “more education needs to be done”, said Ms Jones.
“Parents would be loath to spend £450 on an electric scooter if they knew they were encouraging their young person to go and commit a crime,” she said.
She added that the central government needs to take action on the issue, “make it lawful” or “make it clear that you can’t use a private scooter”.
“I think the responsibility lies with the government. I told previous transport secretaries that they’re creating the issue. Either change the law and make it lawful for them to use them but make it really clear that you need to go in cycle lanes, or make it clear through a national campaign that you can’t use private scooters; then maybe Halfords would stop selling them.
“But this is the problem that we’ve got. We’re up against it. You can buy them in shops or online. Then, people don’t realise they’re committing a crime when they buy one for their kid.”
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* This article has been amended from an earlier version to clarify the types of bike mentioned by Ms Jones
