Criminals dealt crushing blow as illegal e-scooters and electric motorcycles destroyed

It comes as police reveal that knives and drugs are often seized alongside the illegals vehicles, with many of them being involved in serious crimes.

Police say the illegal use of privately owned, powered, two-wheel vehicles - such as e-scooters and off-road electric motorcycles - also puts the riders of these vehicles and other road users at risk of serious injury, due to the careless and dangerous manner in which they are often used.

Last year the Police Commissioner and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, signed a contract to enable the force to enhance the powers of its officers by using existing legislation to give them the option to destroy any e-scooter or e-motorcycle that is being used in crime.

Known as Operation Crush, police say this targeted campaign has already been a success with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary seizing 105 of these vehicles in 2024, an increase from 41 in 2023. These were all used illegally or were involved in another crime and have since been destroyed so they do not end up back in the hands of criminals.

More than 50 of the vehicles seized in 2024 were e-scooters. While all privately-owned e-scooters are currently not road legal, police say they are primarily focused on targeting their enforcement activity on the vehicles used in crime, anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving. The e-scooters seized included several involved in road traffic collisions and some used by riders who were under the influence of drink or drugs.

Police explained that electric motorbikes and off-road petrol-powered motorcycles pose a significant risk because these are often linked to more serious crime. Knives and drugs were also seized alongside these vehicles last year and they were often used in a persistently dangerous manner, putting the lives of the riders and other innocent road users at risk.

Officers seized 26 e-bicycles in 2024. These are sometimes referred to as Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPCs) and are road legal. However, there are several rules around these vehicles and the ones we seized were all modified so they could propel the rider to dangerous and illegal speeds. In some instances, they were even ridden on major routes such as the A27 and the M3 at great risk.

Police Sergeant Jamie Dobson, of the Roads Policing Unit, said: “By using these enhanced powers to destroy these vehicles after seizing them, we are stopping these criminals from going straight back out and committing the same offences multiple times.

“It is a significant new weapon in our armoury to help us combat the rise in these vehicles being used in criminality and anti-social behaviour.

“The campaign was launched to crackdown on the illegal use of these vehicles, which had become increasingly popular with those committing a variety of different crimes, including those involved in drugs gangs.

“A particular focus for our officers is the use of e-motorbikes and off road ‘scramblers’ which are often being used for nothing other than dangerous road use, anti-social behaviour and serious criminality. They are almost always owned by the people riding them and when we seize and destroy them they are thousands of pounds worse off.

“This tougher stance is helping us keep our roads safer, as the vehicles are often used dangerously, potentially putting lives at risk.”

Tackling the illegal use of e-scooters is a key priority in the Police Commissioner’s new Police and Crime Plan ‘More Police, Safer Streets 2’. Over 55 per cent of the 10,362 people who responded to its public consultation said they wanted the police to do more to tackle the dangers of e-scooters.

PCC Donna Jones added: “Since being elected as the Police Commissioner in 2021, the public have consistently told me they want the police to do more to crack down on e-scooters. Too often we see people on privately owned e-scooters riding dangerously on roads and pavements breaking the law. I have seen a number of dangerous collisions, particularly on pavements, which have resulted in people suffering significant injuries, some of them life changing.

“Whilst many people use e-scooters as environmentally friendly travel, residents and road users have a right to be concerned about the dangers of privately owned e-scooters which are illegal to ride on the road and are often being used to commit crime.

“My message is absolutely clear - if you choose to operate an e-scooter illegally you will face the consequences and to the criminals and drug gangs using them, they will be seized and destroyed.”

For information about the laws surrounding the use of e-scooters, visit www.hampshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rs/road-safety/advice-escooters/