Police Unveil New Weapon to Fight Illegal Motorcycle Use
Some police forces now have a new weapon in their arsenal to help fight illegal motorbike use and anti-social behaviour
A new kind of ‘tagging spray’ has been developed and will now be used across the UK to help bring illegal motorcycle riders, and those partaking in anti-social behaviour, to justice.
Illegal and off-road motorcycle use in the UK is a big problem, and as retailers such as JD Sports in its latest ad campaign have shown, it’s becoming an increasingly normal thing for people to do.
The trouble is, this kind of behaviour only increases the number of other crimes taking place, with further motorcycle thefts being just one of the knock-on effects that could also increase. The police forces of the UK don’t have that many things they can do, and with many forces actively not chasing these types of criminals, for their own safety and that of the public, quite often these crimes have to be handled at arm’s length.
One new tool could help with this, a new tagging spray that can be deployed, coating the rider and passenger of the bike (if they are carrying one), the motorcycle and their clothing with a layer of harmless mist that makes it easier to link those involved to a crime.
The police are claiming that the coating cannot be washed off surfaces and therefore provides the police with a long-lasting piece of evidence that can be used once the assailant has been caught.
While the use of the product in this way is new, it has been widely used in some regions, although in those respects it is to tag property to help deter burglars from making certain houses a target.
Speaking about the tagging spray Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said:
“The use of this tagging spray is another tool officers will have at their disposal to help detect illegal and antisocial activity associated with motorcycle and bike crime.
“We know that this issue has been a concern for communities, and we’ve had a number of local projects ongoing in a bid to help tackle this over recent months and years.
“Other areas of the country have seen great results in reductions of crime using SelectaDNA, which was first introduced in Edinburgh in 2018. We hope this will be reflected in our communities as we continue to work hard to bring perpetrators to justice.
“I’d ask the public to continue to work with us to help in apprehending those taking part in anti-social behaviour and hold them to account throughout our area.
“If you wish to report crime in your area, you can do so by contacting us on 101, or by phoning Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
