Moped criminals not being chased by police in case of accidents

Increasing numbers of police officers are deciding not to give chase to moped criminals for fear they will not have the support of senior officers if something goes wrong, Sky News has been told.

Moped-enabled crime has reached almost epidemic proportions – particularly in London. Here, there have been more than 16,000 moped-related crimes in the past 12 months – a threefold increase on the previous year.

Sky News was given exclusive access to join officers from Scotland Yard’s moped crime task force as they tackled bike offenders in the capital.

Such crimes rose to prominence in the north London borough of Islington several years ago, but the teams are now confronting a problem that effects almost every borough in the capital.

Mopeds, scooters and other small motorbikes have become the getaway vehicle of choice for increasing numbers of criminals as they commit street robberies or carry out knife, gun and acid attacks.

Detective Superintendent Stuart Ryan, head of the moped crime task force, said tackling offenders on motorbikes poses significant challenges for his officers.

He said: "If you look at the cohort that are currently doing this crime, they are 13 to 19 year olds. The average age is about 15, and it seems to have become their crime of choice.

"The reality is that with mopeds, it is a challenge for us to slow the mopeds down or stop them because of the speed they’re going."

Mobile phones are often stolen using mopeds – with Mr Ryan explaining that the police’s response is often delayed because victims have no way to report the offence quickly.

"That moped is already five, six miles away by the time we get here – so it makes it more difficult and they know that," he explained.

The task force officers we were with responded to numerous moped-related crimes including phone snatches – a target of choice for two-wheeled criminals.

Although mobile phones can be electronically locked, there is a big market for mobile phone parts like screens and batteries.

Hira Virdee was left feeling vulnerable after he was robbed of his mobile by a moped gang in central London recently.

He said: "I’m not entirely familiar with the area so I decided to check the map on my phone.

"As I took my phone out of my pocket, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye… it was a moped rider.

"I turned towards him, he snatched my phone and rode off down Serle Street, so I ran after him and obviously being on the moped he got away.

"I think there is a lot of feeling of wanting some kind of action to be taken against them."

As police battle to control the surge in moped-related crimes, Sky News has been told that many officers are feeling increasingly vulnerable and are concerned that senior officers are not fully supportive if a moped pursuit ends badly and someone is hurt.

As a result, increasing numbers of officers are making the calculation that it is simply not worth engaging in a high-speed pursuit.

Ken Marsh, from the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: "It’s a very difficult situation, if my colleagues are pursuing someone on a moped there are lots and lots of factors we have to take into consideration.

"People don’t drive these mopeds in a safe manner, they mount the pavements, they take their crash helmets off, these are all factors that my colleagues have to think really carefully about and ask themselves: ‘Do I want to continue pursuing this person because it could make me as a police officer very vulnerable?’"

Despite its challenges, Scotland Yard told us that pursuing moped offenders was still an important tactic used by officers, and that the number of moped pursuits had actually increased recently.

However, police sources told us that this is most likely a result of the huge increase in moped-enabled crime rather than officers having confidence they will be supported by senior management.

Police are also adapting their tactics to help bring moped offenders to justice.

Helicopters are increasingly being used, allowing officers to follow the bikes at a safe distance before moving in when the machines come to a stop.

CCTV, fingerprints, or other forensics are also being used to help identify suspects and arrest them later.

But while they wait for the law to catch up with them, the moped criminals are out on the streets in ever increasing numbers where they are a growing and dangerous threat to the public.

(c) Sky News 2017: Moped criminals not being chased by police in case of accidents