Sadiq Khan has called on manufacturers to help tackle motorcycle-related crime in the Capital by designing anti-theft measures into new vehicles.
In 2017 there were more than 14,000 motorcycles thefts in London, while 23,430 crimes were committed using motorcycles – an average of 64 a day and a 163% year-on-year increase.
Figures also show that most motorcycle crime is carried out on stolen vehicles.
At a meeting on 23 January – attended by manufacturers, the Met Police and the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) – London’s mayor also called for short-term action to tackle the problem in existing models, such as retrofitting security devices.
Mr Khan encouraged closer collaboration between manufacturers and the Met Police on the ‘Be Safe’ campaign, which was launched to raise awareness among scooter riders of what they can do to reduce the risk of their vehicle being stolen.
Sadiq Khan said:
“Motorcycle-related crime is reckless, frightening, intimidating and will not be tolerated in the Capital.
“I have tasked the Met with stemming the increase, and they have responded with targeted intelligence-led operations, increased arrests and new tactics. But this is a problem that cannot be solved with policing alone.
“It is essential that the manufacturers step up to help us tackle this problem at the source. Put simply, the design of motorcycles make them far too easy to steal and this must be dealt with head-on at the point of design if we are to rid our streets of these crimes.”
30 January 2018