Overview
- The Metropolitan Police increased its Sur‑Ron e‑bike fleet from five to 25 and has deployed the unit across multiple boroughs including Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, and Hammersmith & Fulham.
- The force released body‑worn footage showing recent high‑speed chases and said the bikes help officers follow suspects off roads and up stairs, with that rollout announced on Wednesday.
- The Met credits the capability, alongside drone use, with about 13,000 fewer reported phone thefts in the past year and says officers have seized more than 2,500 illegal or modified e‑bikes and e‑scooters so far this year.
- Critics and reporters note a legal and optics problem because the police bikes are the same high‑powered Sur‑Ron style machines commonly seized as illegal, raising questions about road legality, registration and how the force authorises their use.
- Despite the drop in recorded thefts, the Met reports that formal ‘positive outcomes’ such as charges or cautions for those offences remain under 1 percent, and the new bikes were bought using proceeds seized from crime with Home Office support.