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| CRUSHED: Bikes from the 2016 ride-out are crushed by the police |
POLICE recently warned there is no easy way to deal with the off-road bikes that are a regular sight around North Solihull.
Several councillors are concerned that the problems have returned with a vengeance.
And anger at riders who race around local parks and along pavements often comes hand-in-hand with calls for the authorities to do more to stop them in their tracks.
There was, however, a good result last month, with more than 20 men – including several local residents – being sentenced by the courts.
The gang were convicted for taking part in a mass ride-out, which had caused mayhem on local streets in June 2016. The force also went to the trouble of releasing footage of bikes being crushed, hoping to hammer home the message.
But debate continues about how best to handle the issue, with concerns that complaints are once again on the increase.
At a recent scrutiny board, Coun Mark Wilson (Green, Smith’s Wood) said: “Dirt bikes, scramblers, quads, whatever you want to call them ... It’s starting to rise again.
“I have been told that they’re coming from Shard End some times, that they are crossing boundaries into Castle Bromwich, Kingshurst and Chelmsley Wood.”
Supt Richard Agar, from Solihull Police, admitted there was not “an easy fix” but there had been some success with prosecutions and injunctions.
“It is a challenge in terms of what we do, but a couple of things we are exploring at the moment include community protection notices...”
Officers are also doing more work to direct riders to dedicated race tracks. While the recent court case saw a number of people jailed for public nuisance, the same meeting heard that getting results wasn’t always easy.
Caroline Naven, the council’s head of neighbourhood and regulatory services, said this could prove “frustrating”.
“We had an operation that involved 200 offenders, 45 of the cases got to court and of those 45 the majority of them were found not guilty.
“I just don’t think people are appreciating the gravity of that offence and how much of an issue it causes to local communities. The danger it poses...”
Another borough councillor, Robert Hall (Ind, Kingshurst & Fordbridge) had recently warned that bikers using Babbs Mill were putting local lives at risk.
The council believes that encouraging greater activity in parks will help reclaim the areas from a small group of troublemakers.
In a statement earlier this month, Chief Insp Jack Hadley (pictured) said: "We are now much more experienced in going after these types of offenders.
"We will use tyre-deflating stinger devices to contain groups of illegal bikers that pose a danger to road users and to disable their motorbikes bikes.
"And some officers are now equipped with a DNA spray which they can use to ‘tag’ offenders and their bikes.
"This is an invisible liquid, each can with its own unique DNA, which shows up under UV light – so should we seize the offender’s bike or clothing in future we can link it to a specific incident and provides great evidence."
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