Rise in drug dealing gangs using e-bikes and e-scooters to evade the police, says Lancashire PCC - here's how officers plan to catch them
Gangs are increasingly using e-bikes and e-scooters to evade the police while dealing drugs, says the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner.
Officers are currently undergoing training in how to use scrambler bikes to catch dealers who escape on e-vehicles down backstreets, alleyways, and other places that police cars can't reach, PCC Clive Grunshaw added.
His comments follow a week-long crackdown on the illegal use of ketamine last fortnight when Inspector Matthew Plummer, the Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for Burnley and Rossendale, revealed that dealers are using illegal e-vehicles to supply ketamine in Burnley and Padiham. Officers seized nine e-bikes and e-scooters, arrested two riders, and charged them with dangerous driving. Police found approximately £10,000 in cash, a Rolex watch, and designer clothing on one of the riders, leading to a further arrest for money laundering. Operation Shore, Lancashire Constabulary's response to the rise in ketamine addiction in the area, saw the police arrest 15 people, including 15, 16, and 17-year-olds, in Burnley, Padiham, Nelson, Ramsbottom, and Huddersfield.
PCC Clive Grunshaw has been campaigning against the misuse of e-vehicles across Lancashire since he was elected last year and says he is "really concerned" about the increase in their use by gangs dealing drugs.
"What we have found is that e-bikes and e-scooters have become the transport of choice for drug gangs because they are so difficult to catch. It's really difficult for the police to stop them," he said.
Scramble bikes, he added, will enable police officers to pursue them down narrower areas, and while they're not yet operational, they "will be soon".
Other police responses to build the intelligence needed to disrupt ketamine dealing are the use of technology like drones and an increase in the number of neighbourhood police teams. The county has recently secured £1.7m in funding to put more than 100 additional officers in neighbourhood teams, comprising 53 police officers, 30 PCSOs, and 20 special constables.
"It's the connection with the public that really makes a difference," said the PCC.
"We're constantly trying to rebuild the relationship between the police and the public, and get more officers on the street to pick up information and intelligence to tell us where the drug dealers are. That information can lead to, as seen with Operation Shore, officers making arrests and confiscating the vehicles. I can't stress enough how important it is for the community and the public to pass on any information to the police because that enables them to make those arrests."
The bikes are often bought legally, PCC Grunshaw explained, then modified to give them more power. It is difficult for police to identify this without catching and testing them. That's one of the reasons why the PCC is backing a new Crime and Policing Bill, which will give officers the power to seize off-road bikes being used anti-socially, without first having to issue a warning.
PCC Grunshaw believes the ongoing government and police action will stop nuisance e-bike riders in their tracks, saying: "I think what we have got in Lancashire is strengthening all the time. It will become more and more effective. I'm confident we'll be able to tackle this problem."