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The Off-road Bikes (Police Powers) Bill has been introduced by Labour MP for North Durham, Luke Akehurst, who believes police officers should be given the authority to seize nuisance off-road bikes from riders’ homes. Akehurst’s bill has been tabled amid increasing calls for stricter laws to tackle the problem of motorbikes ridden through parks and on pavements. He declared that such bikes were being “driven in a dangerous and anti-social way” and in some cases causing “damage and injuries.”
A “loophole” has been identified by some local police in existing legislation pertaining to their power to seize off-road vehicles, according to Akehurst. Although officers have the authority to enter most premises, including private garages, to seize motor vehicles, this does not cover private houses. Akehurst’s bill aims to amend previously agreed laws by giving the police the power to enter a private dwelling and seize an off-road bike that has been driven in an anti-social way or has no insurance. The MP acknowledged this to be “an intrusive power” and stressed the need for “rigorous legal safeguards and proportionate use.”
Durham Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen had previously suggested using drones to monitor anti-social riders, while police are currently employing similar bikes to apprehend suspects. The government gave its assurance earlier this year of a “crackdown on the scourge of off-road bikes in public parks, dangerous e-scooters on pavements, street racing, all of which inflict misery on local communities.” Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson issued a statement outlining the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill that stated officers would no longer be obligated to issue a warning before confiscating vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour.
Akehurst’s bill is slated for debate in the House of Commons on March 7th of next year. Trimdon and Thornley councillor Lucy Hovvels had previously expressed fears for people subjected to the noise of these off-road bikes, saying that there were many individuals who lived in fear because of them
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