Overview
- Press Association data for the 12 months to May 19, 2026 show e‑bike confiscations rose from 3,858 to 7,049, an increase of about 83 per cent nationwide.
- Several local forces reported much larger proportional jumps, with Thames Valley seizures rising from 163 to 425 and Dorset’s total increasing from 38 to 129 over the same period.
- The Crime and Policing Act 2026, which took effect on June 29, 2026, lets officers seize illegally used e‑bikes used in anti‑social ways without first issuing a warning.
- For enforcement, police have run targeted operations since early 2025 and trialled SmartTag forensic spray to mark riders and link suspects to incidents where they flee the scene.
- Charities warn that fast, modified e‑bikes bought online or converted with cheap kits pose a real danger to pedestrians and visually impaired people, and forces say some riders are unaware of registration and insurance rules while others use bikes in crime.