Phone thieves' e-bikes to be crushed hours after they are caught
Police will receive powers to destroy e-bikes and e-scooters hours after they are seized in a crackdown on anti-social behaviour and snatch thefts.
Officers will no longer have to give a warning to an offender before seizing and destroying a bike, scooter or car that has been driven in an anti-social way or used to perpetrate the theft of a mobile phone or bag.
Instead of waiting 14 days before being able to dispose of them, police will have powers to destroy them within 48 hours.
Ministers said the current 14-day deadline made it easier for offenders to reclaim their bikes, scooters or vehicles, which provided a limited deterrent to repeat offending.
While e-bikes and scooters have become an increasing source of irritation for pedestrians, they are, along with mopeds and scooters, being increasingly used in snatch thefts.
The number of snatch thefts, where devices or personal items are grabbed from a person by a thief, rose from 58,000 in 2023 to 99,000 last year – the highest level since 2003, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, said: 'Anti-social and reckless driving brings misery to communities across the country, from dangerous street racing to off-road bikes tearing through local parks.
'By enabling police to seize and dispose of these vehicles within just 48 hours, we're giving our officers the tools they need to deliver immediate results and providing communities the swift justice they deserve.
'As part of our Plan for Change, these new powers send a clear message that anti-social behaviour, whatever form it takes, will not be tolerated in our local communities.'
Labour is also looking to increase the fines for the cost of seizing, towing and crushing vehicles.
A previous consultation recommended that it should be increased by the rate of inflation since the fees were last raised in 2008. This would cover the cost of recovering vehicles.
The problem of nuisance driving has become so bad that some forces have launched dedicated operations to combat it. Operation Vulcan in Oldham has been targeting e-bikes, four of which were seized after their drivers were arrested for drug supply.
Jo Shiner, the National Police Chiefs' Council's lead for roads policing, said: 'Anti-social use of a vehicle, such as street racing, street cruising or off-road use is more than a matter of noise pollution.
'It can have long-term effects on a neighbourhood, with the criminal damage of roads, other vehicles and surrounding property.'
Edmund King, the AA president, said: 'Illegal car meets and street racing are not just anti-social, but also present road safety problems which have resulted in needless injuries and fatalities.
'This is a positive step that should make people think again before joining illegal car cruises.'
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