Metropolitan Police adds high-speed e-bikes to curb London phone thefts

This week the Metropolitan Police expanded its electric-bike unit with twenty additional machines that reach up to 80 kph and can follow offenders onto sidewalks and up stairs, a capability a senior officer described as a game changer for tackling snatch offences. The force notes that mobile-phone thefts in London dropped from roughly 68,000 to 54,000 over the twelve months ending in May, although convictions remain under one percent of reported incidents.

Deputy mayor for policing and crime Kaya Comer-Schwartz emphasized that reducing theft must go hand-in-hand with improvements to the wider criminal-justice system and victim support. High-profile critics such as Donald Trump and Elon Musk have repeatedly commented on crime in the capital, prompting Mayor Sadiq Khan to push back against external criticism. Louise Puddefoot, the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner for frontline policing, said the department’s priority is to present data-driven evidence of reduced criminality rather than engage in political debate.