A new phenomenon worries the police and the authorities: some electric two-wheelers are very popular with criminals who use them more and more to commit flights and other misdeeds.
As we know: criminals and crooks are always the first to seize new technologies. And, above all, to divert them from their normal use to commit misdeeds. This is true for IT, mobile and internet telephony, but also in other areas. And among their new weapons are now electric vehicles, and more particularly certain two-wheelers.
In recent years, electrical assistance bikes have greatly gained popularity. And for good reason: unlike traditional models, they require very little physical efforts to move. And they are silent and ecological. Many use them in town or in the countryside to walk or to go to work. And some models are so powerful that they allow fast starts and well -speed trips. Especially when they are tampered with to remove the limitations imposed by regulations.
Better still, in addition to these sports models, there are real electric motorcycles that do not have much to envy their thermal equivalents in terms of performance. Specialized brands like Sun-Ron, Super Soco or Talaria offer relatively affordable models (at around 4000 euros) which prove to be light, agile and fast.
And it is precisely these high-tech two-tech two-wheelers that today attract criminals to commit crimes. Their sound discretion and speed, which can reach 90 km/h, make it perfect vehicles for those who seek to escape the police by sneaking in the streets, even in the middle of the crowd. And their drivers, often all dressed in black, take good care to hide the face with glasses and hoods so as not to be identified!
This phenomenon has gained a disturbing scale in the United Kingdom where these devices are increasingly used for snatching. London, in particular, is the scene of an explosion of this type of crime, with more than 70,000 phones stolen in the street in 2024. The ease with which these motorcycles allow criminals to circulate without noise and to disappear in a few seconds poses a real challenge for the police.
Another problem is the illegal modification of these vehicles. Although originally designed for off -road use, these electric motorcycles are often suitable to be faster and more agile. Their maneuverability makes them difficult to intercept, even in the most frequented and monitored districts of the British capital. The police and the Ministry of the Interior now plan to strengthen controls and even make registration compulsory in order to better identify the drivers of these devices.
Faced with this alarming situation, the authorities are looking for solutions to reduce the criminal use of these vehicles. The Chinese manufacturer Sur-Ron was asked to collaborate with the police, and discussions are underway to establish more strict measures. Among the options envisaged: a pure and simple prohibition of certain models or limitations on their maximum speed.
This phenomenon is not limited to the United Kingdom, and other European countries could soon be faced with similar problems. If no effective solution is found, the European authorities may have to impose restrictions or even pure and simple prohibitions to limit the abuses linked to these vehicles.