Hampshire police to use new scramblers to catch illegal motorbikes

“You will go to court and you will lose your bikes. We will seize them and we’ll destroy them”.

These are words of warning from Andy Tester, an inspector from Hampshire’s Roads Policing Unit.

The county force has today unveiled three scramblers and three high-performance motorcycles it will use to tackle anti-social behaviour in Southampton.

Officers will now be able to pursue criminals through areas of the city that were previously unreachable.

Inspector Andy Tester and Hampshire PCC, Donna Jones (Image: Daily Echo)

Inspector Tester said it has been “incredibly frustrating” that people can go where officers can’t.

Speaking during a launch event at Havant Police Station today, he added: “It’s been a growing problem over the last three or four years.

“We’ve now got the scrambler bikes which are road-legal motorbikes that will allow us to go pretty much anywhere off-road.

“The other bikes we’ve got are some high-performance bikes which are unmarked but have also got blue lights.

“That means when people are riding in an aggressive way, speeding excessively, riding in a way that puts others at risk, we can follow them and observe their behaviour and record their behaviour and either stop them at the time or deal with it slowly by sending them a summons in the post.”

Officers went on a week-long training course in Wales to learn how to ride in extreme conditions.

Scrambler used by the Hampshire police Roads Policing Unit (Image: Daily Echo)

Costing £80,000 in total, the bikes have been funded through the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC’s) Anti-social Behaviour Fund and the Safer Roads Policing Fund, which is made up of money paid through speeding fines.

Inspector Tester added: “There is a perception that if people make off on a motorbike, we won’t follow them, that’s not true, we will pursue them and we will use tactics.

“Likewise, people think if they take their helmets off they will intimidate us into not pursuing them because we’re worried about them getting hurt.

“That’s their decision, but that won’t deter us.

High performance motorbike used by Hampshire police (Image: Daily Echo)

“If you make off from us, if you make people’s lives a misery on a motorbike, we will come after you, we will make you stop, we will bring you to justice, we will seize your bikes, you will go to court and you will lose your bikes, we will seize them and we’ll destroy them.”

Hampshire PCC, Donna Jones said: “We had anti-social behaviour that had been arising in Southampton, Shirley, Redbridge, Millbrook that had been going on for a number of months.

“Throughout Halloween last year, people who live in that area of Southampton will remember there were a number of issues with cars being overturned and chaos ensued through those three wards in particular.

“That was really the final straw that meant we had to do something.

“A lot of the young people who are committing those types of crimes are getting away on mopeds, electric scooters and electric push bikes.

“So this gives the police a greater opportunity to apprehend them, make our communities safer, get weapons off the street and stop the vehicle theft that’s been going on”.

Officers have been using the new bikes during recent Hampshire operations.

They have reportedly already seized a high-power motorbike and responded to reports of someone riding on the pavement in Whiteley, as well as attending a number of incidents in Southampton.

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