Hampshire police launches new fleet of trail-bikes to tackle dangerous criminals escaping off-road on e-scooters, electric bikes, and scrambler motorcycles

It comes as police report that they have been dealing with up to 20 reports a day of thieves, burglars, and violent offenders - sometimes armed with baseball bats and machetes - fleeing their crimes on a variety of two-wheeled vehicles, endangering bystanders with their reckless get-away driving.

Criminals have increasingly turned to e-scooters, electric bikes, and off-road motorbikes to escape down pedestrian alleys, dirt tracks, and open ground, with Portsmouth, Havant, the Meon Valley and Southampton being the areas worst affected.

Now police have been authorised to use 'tactical contact' to bring bring fleeing vehicles and riders to a stop, as well as launching patrols that use six high-performance motorbikes that can ride off-road.

A team of 22 officers have spent the last six weeks training to use the motorbikes and are about to hit the roads to tackle the persistent problem, according to Inspector Andy Tester of Hampshire Roads Policing Unit.

The inspector said the new motorbikes for the force were a 'game-changer'.

Insp Tester, who has served more than 20 years in the police force, said: 'Across the cities we have had problems with people with motorcycles and high-powered bicycles riding down pavements. There's some real high threat incidents happening. I thought, it's not right that they can go places that we cannot.

'This gives us that edge.'

Police stepped up patrols across Havant last month after a 'significant increase' in reports of anti-social motorbike riding across Leigh Park and Havant Thicket.

Earlier this month saw police make a series of arrests after a pursuit of a suspected stolen vehicle on the A27 near Havant, where officers attempted to blow its tyres with a police stinger before purposefully colliding with the vehicle on the motorway.

Regarding the authorisation to use contact to bring pursuits to an end, the long-serving police officer said: 'It's been done with other forces to great success. The Met have seen great results.

‘There’s a perception that we won’t pursue people if they take their helmets off or if they are on a motorbike – that isn’t true.

‘Where it is necessary and where it is proportional, we will pursue and we will deflate your tyres, and in some circumstances police cars will knock that rider off in a controlled environment.’

The new unmarked motorbikes - which are fitted with flashing blue lights for pursuits - were made available thanks to £80,000 from funds overseen by the police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Donna Jones.

Now the commissioner plans for even more vehicles to be made available to police.

Ms Jones said: 'I think six is just the start.

‘Anything I can do as police commissioner to make sure roads are safer, to make sure people aren't speeding – I will make sure the police have the resources to use these tools to make all our of communities safer.'