Police to deploy high-speed e-bikes in London to combat phone snatching
22 May 2025, 12:05
High-speed e-bikes will be used by police officers in London to "beat criminals at their own game" in their war against phone snatchers.
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The lightweight off-road vehicles, produced by Sur-ron, have been unveiled by the City of London Police in the latest move to combat the mobile stealing crimewave.
Countless numbers of thieves have been using these bikes to whizz around the city and pinch phones out of people's hands, before speeding off in the blink of an eye.
Using the Chinese-made bikes, which cost £4,9000 a piece, the criminals have then been able to flee along pavements and weave through traffic, leaving pursuing officers on the road in their wake.
But now these criminals cyclists will be chased by a new electric fleet of cop bikes - which have their distinctive force logos, flashing lights and sirens.
In January, the Metropolitan Police purchased five Chinese-made Surron 'high-performance electric bikes' for their new elite unit, which was set up to target the gangs.
And now the City of London force has followed suit, as Commander Umer Khan told the Standard: “We will tackle phone snatching using all available tactics.
"We want the City to be a welcoming place of national and historic significance for visitors, workers and the people living here.
“We also want it to be a hostile environment for anyone thinking of coming into the Square Mile to commit criminality. We will get you one way or another - and bring you to justice.”
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Since January, a range of tactics have been deployed by police to combat the phone snatching epidemic.
As a result, Deputy Commissioner Paul Betts says phone snatching has reduced by nearly 30 per cent in the Square Mile.
On Wednesday, illegal e-bikes were seized by the force’s Cycle Team outside Liverpool Street Station and 21-year-old man was arrested in Camden.
Deputy Commissioner Betts added: “Having your phone swiped has a huge impact on people’s lives, the stealing of an expensive device also makes someone a risk of fraudulent activity.
"It’s a horrible crime and our message is clear, we won’t tolerate it in the City.
"Early results of Operation Swipe are positive, bucking the trend in the rise of this prevalent crime, but we’re going the extra mile to keep the City safe and feeling safe for residents, businesses and visitors.”
Last year, criminals were stealing on average 192 phones a day or one every seven-and-a-half minutes.
In the first three months of 2025, more than £7,000 a day was defrauded from victims following thefts.
But from the over 1,000 stolen phones recovered by City of London Police in two years, fewer than half have been returned because the owner could not be traced.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “For too long phone theft has been a neglected crime.
"These results from City of London Police demonstrate that effective neighbourhood policing can make our streets safer.
"Through our Plan for Change we are building on this type of successful policing, supporting police with new powers in our Crime and Policing Bill to recover stolen devices without a warrant, while investing in 13,000 new neighbourhood officers to get more police back on the beat."
