Greater Manchester Police tackle nuisance riders and quads with airborne support

Police in Greater Manchester are tackling ongoing issues with nuisance and anti-social motorcycle and quad bike riders with the help of the National Police Air Service (NPAS), and drone technology. Also extending to e-bikes, the operations follows a number of incident reports in the area, with the team stating that these vehicles are used to commit other crimes such as drugs supply, burglary, and theft.

“Anti-social behaviour can take many forms and if it’s a problem for you, it’s a problem for us,” Superintendent John-Paul Ruffle from the Greater Manchester Police Prevention Branch said.

“While some people may use off-road bikes in the way they were intended, others use them to ruin parks, playing fields and flagrantly violate traffic laws – which is exactly what this operation is intending to prevent.”

According to the force, data has been gathered over the past two years to detect the areas with the highest reported incidents. Officers from the Roads Policing, Drone and Motorcycle Units will be working alongside NPAS and neighbourhood teams in flushing out offenders.

“We target ASB in multiple ways – enhanced hotspot patrols, partnership work, and providing opportunities for young people to keep them from falling into criminality,” Sup In Ruffle continued. “While we always seek to engage, we will also enforce; anyone using these bikes irresponsibly will be spoken to and all appropriate action taken.

“We will use every tool at our disposal, which includes specialist GMP resources to crackdown on this type of crime. I would also like to encourage residents to report incidents to us so we can take appropriate action.”

The officer continued: “We also want to know where these bikes are being stored. Please reach out if you have any information that will help us in our quest to reduce motorcycle-related crime.

“Our priority is to ensure that our roads and open spaces are safe for all.”