London police have apparently decided that if you can’t beat them, join them – or at least get yourself the same electric bike.
The Metropolitan Police has expanded its fleet of high-powered electric two-wheelers used to chase suspects across London, adding 20 new electric motorbikes and bringing the fleet to 25. The machines can reach speeds of around 50 mph (80 km/h), hop curbs, tackle stairs, and follow suspects into places where a traditional police motorcycle, electric bicycle, or squad car simply can’t go.
And judging by the photos released by Scotland Yard, those bikes are Sur-Rons – the very same type of lightweight electric dirt bikes that have become infamous for their use by criminals and illegal street riders in London.
The irony is pretty thick. Even an official Sur-Ron social media page posted a quip about it.
Sur-Ron-style electric motorcycles have more frequently been referred to by a new colloquialism of “e-motos,” separating it from the more longstanding colloquialism of “e-bikes” that has long encompassed a wide range of two-wheeled EVs from lightweight electric bicycles to higher powered rides. But legally speaking, these Sur-Rons are mostly just electric dirt bikes, far from anything considered road legal in the UK.
Local electrically assisted pedal cycles are limited to 250W of continuous motor power and assistance up to 15.5 mph (25 km/h). Anything exceeding those limits is generally treated as a motor vehicle and must meet the corresponding registration, insurance, licensing, and approval requirements to be legally operated on public roads.
Of course, the police bikes are presumably (or hopefully) being operated under some appropriate legal framework. The point is that unregistered Sur-Rons ridden on public streets – the same machines police routinely seize from illegal riders – are very much illegal.
In fact, the Met itself lists illegal e-bike use as a policing priority in parts of London, including enforcement and seizure of illegally ridden machines.
But there’s a good reason police want them.
Phone snatching has become a major problem in London, often involving thieves using fast electric bikes to approach victims and then escape through traffic, alleys, parks, and pedestrian areas. According to Reuters, reported mobile phone thefts fell from roughly 68,000 to 54,000 in the 12 months through May, though fewer than 1% of offenses currently result in what the Met calls a “positive outcome,” such as a charge or caution, according to Reuters.
Police say combining the fast electric motorbikes with drones has helped officers close the mobility gap. The Met described its expanded e-bike fleet as part of its effort to target gangs using e-bikes and mopeds for crime.
, Mayor of London, said:
“The Met’s new fleet of Sur-Ron e-bikes sends a clear message that London will not tolerate criminal behaviour,” explained London Mayor Sadiq Khan in a statement. “These bikes have been successfully helping the Met to go after offenders who are increasingly using high-powered, illegally modified e-bikes to commit crimes and it’s great to be able to expand the fleet. With record funding from City Hall, the Met are using the latest innovation and technology, alongside neighbourhood policing, to stay one step ahead of criminals.”
And frankly, it makes sense. Sur-Rons became popular with criminals for many of the same reasons enthusiasts love them: they’re quick, quiet, narrow, lightweight, and ridiculously capable off-road.
Now the police chasing them finally have the same advantages.
Sometimes the best tool for catching an illegal bike is, apparently, another one.
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