Police use e-bikes to tackle anti-social behaviour

Merseyside Police said there was a need for the force to "really diversify our tactics"

Police in part of Merseyside have unveiled a new fleet of e-bikes to help tackle anti-social behaviour.

The bikes would enhance officers’ operational capabilities, extend their patrol areas and increase visibility in locations that traditional police vehicles could not easily access, Merseyside Police said.

Launching the bikes in St Helens on Monday, Insp Josh Griffiths said officers were seeing criminals increasingly using bikes and e-bikes "so we must have the tools to match and outpace them".

The new bikes would help officers with disrupting the activity of organised crime groups, he added.

Insp Josh Griffiths said the bikes would also enable police to provide "more visible policing "

Insp Griffiths said there was a need for them to "really diversify our tactics" and invest in tackling "two-wheeled crime as well as four".

He said the bikes would also enable them to provide "more visible and accessible neighbourhood policing for our communities".

Officers would be using the e-bikes to patrol the many parks, woodland and other open spaces in the borough, as well as in towns and villages, the force said.

The bikes have been funded by St Helens Borough Council.

Trisha Long, cabinet member for supporting neighbourhoods, said the bikes would enable the team to be "more mobile and accessible to the community within our parks and open spaces, fostering stronger relationships with residents and contributing to a safer, more connected borough".