London police are ramming moped muggers, shocking and confusing criminals who thought it ‘wasn’t allowed’
- 63 suspects have been deliberately knocked off their mopeds this year, helping slash crimes involving the nimble bikes
- UK police say criminals react with surprise at being rammed by police cars, incorrectly believing such tactics are illegal
Police in London say tough tactics used against suspected violent thieves on mopeds, including chasing them and knocking them off their bikes, have helped reduce crime.
The Metropolitan Police said there had been a 44 per cent reduction in thefts that involved mopeds or scooters since the tactics were adopted last year.
These include providing officers with a special marking spray to fire at suspects, using remote-controlled spikes to burst the tyres of bikes, and using police cars to knock suspects off their bikes.
Officers had previously been reluctant to chase mopeds, some driven at high speed by suspects as young as 14, amid fears of injury or death.
But Inspector Jim Corbett said those who thought they would not be chased if they took off their helmets were in for a surprise: “A big myth that we have is that if people remove their helmets they think they are not going to be pursued.”
They are shocked. They say ‘We did not think you were allowed to do that,’ especially when they take off their helmet. They are confused
He said officers were told by one person they caught: “I took my helmet off as I thought you would stop chasing me.” That person, who was later jailed, rode on to the pavement. Officers deemed him a danger to the public and used “tactical contact”, to knock him off his scooter.
A special team called Scorpion drivers have been trained in tactical contact. Policies were drawn up using legal experts to minimise the chances of officers being prosecuted for using the technique, which was introduced in October 2017.
So far this year officers have knocked suspects off their mopeds or scooters 63 times, including those who have taken off their helmets.
Video released by police showed some suspects literally throwing up their arms in anger after being knocked off their bikes.
