“We want to put this more on the police’s radar”This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Bristol’s motorbike owners have called a summit with police chiefs because of the rising numbers of bike thefts in and around Bristol. A campaign group set up to represent motorbike owners, many of whom have had their bikes stolen, say the tactics of the young bike-stealing gangs has changed, and they are now selling on the bikes they steal instead of just simply riding them around and dumping them.
The summit will see police and crime commissioner Claire Moody meet the Bristol Bike Theft Awareness group (BBTA), along with several senior police officers. The campaigners say they want to raise the issue with police, find out more about what the police are doing about the growing problem, and work together to combat the issue.
The summit – to which concerned bike owners from around Bristol are invited to come – is taking place at the BAWA venue in Filton on Monday evening, December 1, and has come about after around 30 bikers went en masse to one of the police commissioner’s regular public consultation meetings, in Chipping Sodbury back in September.
A similar event back in 2018, after a year of a spike in the number of motorbikes being taken, saw the police set up Operation Buell, which saw officers targeting the bike-taking gangs, who at the time were flaunting their crimes on social media, with videos of their exploits.
Operation Buell saw a number of arrests, and bike theft fell by 70 per cent in just 12 months, in the year before the Covid pandemic.
Now, Paul Walker, from the BBTA team, said things aren’t quite as bad as 2017 and 2018 this time around, but are serious enough for bike owners across Bristol to ask police to step up.
“We just want to put this more on the police’s radar,” said Mr Walker. “It’s a number of things that are building up. Things are not as bad as they were in 2017 and 2018, but it is now still a significant issue.
“What has changed is that we think now the people taking these bikes have worked out that they can sell them on rather than just ride them around, get chased by the police and abandon them or torch them.
“We’re seeing stolen bikes from Bristol up for sale in Birmingham or South Wales. We’ve had instances where a bike that’s worth £20,000 they put up for sale for £1,200. We know that the police have priorities and they have to go with evidence-based policing, and it’s a challenge, but we’re wanting to raise this in the hope that they can prioritise it again,” he added.
“It’s also about communication, and how we can work together with the police on things like communication – for example, what successes have they had in tackling this recently?
“For riders in Bristol right now it feels like there isn’t anywhere you can park your bike where you’re confident it is not going to be stolen, it’s that significant a problem now,” he added.
A summit on the rise in motorbike thefts in Bristol, back in early 2018 – Panellists included as Chief Constable, the Police and Crime Commissioner, a representative for Operation Buell, a representative for the justice system, plus city councillors.
Back in 2017 and 2018, rival gangs from across Bristol – particularly one based in Southmead and another based in South Bristol – competed with each other to steal increasingly high-powered motorbikes, and would document their exploits, from the act of stealing, riding around the city or being chased by police, and then dumping or torching the bikes. That largely came to an end with a number of arrests and successful prosecutions, during a year of campaigning by bike riders, which included a mass ride out protest at the issue in September 2018.
More recently bike-taking gangs appear to be back. In October 2023, a video of a group of young people stealing a bike from Berkeley Square in Clifton went viral, after a passer-by filmed members of the public trying to intervene and stop the theft, only to be threatened by one of the gang as they tried to break open the front wheel security lock.
In that instance, one of the culprits was quickly arrested and given a six month detention and training order. “What the Berkeley Square case showed was that it’s more serious now, they are prepared to threaten people while they are doing it,” said Mr Walker.
“We called this summit to start a conversation with the police, and to work with them to support them in tackling this issue,” he added. “Change can only come if the voice of the community is heard in numbers, unified and loud. A similar event in 2018 resulted in Op Buel being set up with more collaboration between the motorcycling community, impactful intel being received and a significant reduction in motorcycle theft.”
The summit is taking place at BAWA at Filton on Monday, December 1 at 6pm, and the BBTA group are calling on as many people to attend as possible. Entry is free, but places should be booked through this EventBrite link.