The Government and the Police are doing nothing about it as incidents escalate. Video footage of a brazen attempted theft of a Daytona, in Sutton, in broad-daylight, from a female rider has been doing the rounds again on the internet as bikers start to take matters into their own hands.
The video from October 2016 shows at least four moped thieves trying to steal the bike. One of them pushed the 40 year old female rider off her bike and got on it, but when the owner tries to stop him stealing it he lashes out at her with such force that her visor is ripped off. Two passers-by step in to help her and despite a second gang member wading in the thieves eventually flee on their mopeds empty-handed.
This wasn't just some opportunist theft of a bike parked up, this was an attack in broad daylight in a leafy suburb of London which targeted a person whilst they were riding. The way that bike theft has escalated is truly shocking and there has been no apparent effort by the Government, the Police, or the Mayors Office for London to do anything about it. Over the last two years, bike theft has risen by 600%!
Whereas it was mainly confined to central London, because the crimes are largely going unchecked they have been spreading to other major cities and out into the outskirts of London.
Bikers have now started to take the matters into their own hands with notices appearing in several Biker haunts such as the Ace Cafe asking for bikers to join vigilante groups to tackle this menace head on. One such notice invited bikers who'd had their bikes stolen to go 'TMAX' hunting - the thieves generally use TMAX machines as they are faster than other scooters. It's not just happening in London either, there have been reports of vigilante gangs forming in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Liverpool.
Though vigilante groups are not the best way to tackle this growing menace, there are many bikers out there who now feel that it's the only way to keep their pride and joy safe. The question has to be asked though... how has it been allowed to get to such a bad state?
