Police boss keen on drone tech upgrade to boost crackdown on motorbike menace

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Susan Dungworth wants her force to have greater powers to crackdown on motorbikes, scramblers, and e-bikes being used illegally across the region.

Northumbria Police already uses drones to track riders from known hotspots, instead of engaging in dangerous chases, and then seize the nuisance vehicles.

But the PCC is keen to copy a new, high-tech system launched by the British Transport Police (BTP).

While drones must currently be operated within the line of sight of their pilot, the BTP has gained approval for a remote piloting operation – allowing it to base drones at key locations across the country and fly them from a central control room.

Mrs Dungworth told the Northumbria Police and Crime Panel: “I know there is still an issue around motorbikes and electric bikes, on-road and off-road. There perhaps always will be, if I’m perfectly honest. It is a big patch to cover and a big area to be on top of every single incident.

“But in the areas where there has been concerted effort on behalf of police and partners there has been a reduction [in incidents] and increased confidence from local communities.

“We are increasing the use of drones to follow the motorbikes and gather intelligence about finding where they come from in order to then seize them.

“I recently had a really interesting meeting with the BTP, who have the capacity to use drones over a much longer distance than our force does. At the moment, they have to be in the eyesight of the operator. But the BTP have dispensation so that they can virtually follow a train from start to finish. We are now looking at whether that is possible for the force to do as well.”

The PCC reported how 200 bikes have been seized since the launch of Operation Capio in 2023 to tackle motorbike-related anti-social behaviour, with a 14% drop in incidents reported in 2024 compared to 2023.

Mrs Dungworth also called for greater awareness of the safety and legality issues around the motorbikes.