"The Met Police has seized 2,500 e-bikes and e-scooters this year as part of a crackdown on criminals using high-speed cycles to snatch mobile phones and commit robberies. In 2024, the force recorded more than 80,500 mobile phone thefts and robbery incidents - up from almost 65,000 the year before. Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said by seizing e-bikes and e-scooters being used criminally in London they were "taking the bikes off the menacing individuals using them"."
"David, another victim, said his mobile phone was snatched from his grip by a man on an e-bike outside King's Cross Station in September. He said: "I've never had my phone stolen before, but when your phone is stolen, it's so much. "It's photos you haven't downloaded, and the big financial cost, as well as all of the hassle." David said the police officers who arrived told him "20 phones are stolen each shift". He said he was able to track his phone to a 9m property in east London and sent the Met a copy of its location."
The Met Police seized 2,500 e-bikes and e-scooters this year to disrupt criminals using high-speed cycles for phone snatches and robberies. In 2024 the force recorded over 80,500 mobile phone thefts and robbery incidents, up from almost 65,000 the year before. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said seizing those vehicles removes them from menacing individuals using them. Between 1 April and 22 October 2025 theft from a person and personal robbery offences fell by 16.6% and 13.5% respectively. Victims described rapid snatchings outside Moorgate and King's Cross, loss of photos and financial costs, and concerns about crime locations not being immediately investigated.
Read at www.bbc.com
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