New off-road police bikes are already helping to crackdown on the e-bike crime problem across the city and the county.
Lancashire Police unveiled their new fleet of bikes last month and in their first week of operating the six bikes have helped them seize nearly 200 e-bikes suspected of being involved in various crimes.
The new machines were on display at Preston Markets when police received a visit from Minister of State for the Home Office, Lord David Hanson, earlier this week.
Read more: Modified illegal e-bikes seized in Preston city centre
Members of the public were intrigued by the red, yellow and blue bikes which are Honda CRF300s and also GS800 BMWs which are a hybrid patrol and off-road bike which are specially designed to be able to take police down tighter paths which were often being used to out-run officers.
Inspector Steve Scott, one of the police riders responsible for the new fleet of bikes, told Blog Preston why they had made such a difference.
He said: “What we found before with the normal patrol bikes, which is an RT 1250, it’s a very big bike.
“These new bikes mean we can be a bit more nimble in urban areas and we can tackle the problem.
“When you’re chasing an e-bike they are easy to turn in the road and they’ll go through small spaces, down alleyways and across fields.
“With our new bikes we can match that. It allows us to go into those areas, plus we’re supported by our drone units and the National Police Air Service when needed.”
Inspector Scott said they had seen a rapid rise in crimes related to e-bikes, either anti-social behaviour and dangerous riding, but also the e-bikes being used as a getaway bike for other crimes such as robbery, burglary or assaults.
He said: “Previously it was difficult for us against them. We would have to make sure there’s enough patrols in the area to be able to box in someone who is on an e-bike and be on the other side.
“Since we began our new bike operations we’ve already seen a significant decrease in calls related to e-bike crime because we’ve seized well over 400 bikes now, and in the first week we were able to seize 178.
“I think that shows how big an impact these machines have had and also how much of a problem e-bike related crime was.”
Funding for the new police bikes came via Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw.
He said: “I’m proud to fund these specialist bikes in direct response to concerns raised by residents across Lancashire.
“The reckless and illegal use of e-bikes and similar vehicles has led to tragic consequences both locally and nationally.
“Since taking office, I’ve pushed for stronger laws, and I welcome the new powers in the Crime and Policing Bill that make it easier to seize illegally used vehicles.
“I’ll continue working to ensure officers have the tools they need and to advocate for the strongest possible legislation to keep our communities safe.”
Lord Hanson, during his visit to Preston, was briefed by police on the impact the new bikes were having.
Asked about what was being done to tackle e-bike related crime he outlined the change in the law he was pushing for to make seizing illegal e-bikes and scooters easier.
At the moment police have to give a warning to the offender if a bike is being used in an anti-social manner, but Section 59 of the Police Reform Act is due to be amended to allow officers to more swiftly dispose of a seized vehicle.
The new Police and Crime Bill proposes police can crush e-scooters and off-road bikes after 48 hours, rather than the 14-day period which is currently in place.
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