Police off-road bike team celebrates success in South Yorkshire

A police off-road bike team is celebrating success, with hundreds of stolen and uninsured bikes seized.
A police off-road bike team is celebrating successA police off-road bike team is celebrating success
A police off-road bike team is celebrating success

Two years since the launch of South Yorkshire Police’s ‘off-road bike team,’ the force is celebrating the inroads it is making in disrupting criminal and anti-social behaviour across the county.LATEST: Sheffield student blown up in car beside his motherThe team was launched in August 2017 to tackle the county’s off-road bike problem, the criminal activity associated with it as well as nuisance, noise and anti-social behaviour.

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Over the past two years, the team has been deployed over 360 times and officers have issued 303 warnings to riders using their bikes in an anti-social manner.They have seized 54 bikes for riders ignoring official warnings and another 86 have been seized for having no insurance.

The team has also recovered 204 stolen bikes and made 38 arrests.Inspector Craig Clifton said: “Over the past two years, the off-road bike team has disrupted criminal behaviour and tackled issues that matter most to you the most.“The purpose of the off-road bike teams is to enable officers to engage with and educate off-road bikers who are riding illegally, encourage them to correct their behaviour but we will also take action against those who are repeatedly breaking the law.“We are now working with local partners and using technology, such as drones to enhance the way in which we tackle the problem, but we are only as strong as our communities.“I would like to thank the public for continuing to report problems and providing us with intelligence about bikes and riders. This information has helped recover stolen bikes, and where possible reunite them with their owners.“It also helps us link riders and bikes to crimes in which they have been involved with and continue to protect our communities from theft, burglary and serious crime.”