From the Force’s mouth

The police tactic of ramming moped riders in the name of ‘protecting’ the public should be of concern to all fellow motorcyclists. Having spent 12 years as a Met Police officer, I’m familiar with the challenges faced by my former colleagues and have nothing but respect for them. In my day, any vehicle pursuit of young hoodlums on mopeds would quickly be called off by the control room, the risks deemed too great. It was incredibly frustrating to see criminals flee with scant regard for their own safety or that of the public. While some may applaud the robust response, I believe this new tactic represents a worrying trend and further alienates motorcyclists as ‘outlaws’ to the other 97% of road users. In no way do I seek to diminish the suffering of the victims of these ’orrible little oiks and their criminal activities, but to ram a rider off their vehicle is incredibly dangerous, whatever their crime.

I fear, as often is the case with new police tactics, this represents the thin end of the wedge and wonder how long it will be before this tactic is justified for less-serious offences. The ‘highly trained officer’ argument could be applied to many other branches of policing too, and we all know how easily mistakes can be made in the heat of the moment.

Of course, the law is the law and we must accept the consequences of our actions if we choose to ignore it. But to give this police tactic our approval as a community, I fear that we are setting ourselves up for a very dangerous future ahead. George Lincoln