UK motorcycle theft report February: Crime trends & arrest stories

Seeing how criminal gangs move their operations around the UK can help motorcyclists realise the importance of locking their bikes, and be more prepared when thefts rise in their area.

This map shows the increases and decreases of motorcycle and scooter thefts by comparing the last full month’s data with the month before that. Remember – this is a MONTHLY overview.

Open the tab below the map to show the data in full, as the colours represent the CHANGE to theft rates reported by each Police force, not the quantity.

This month's theft stats explained

Another month of predominantly green across the map showing reductions in motorcycle thefts, and an overall drop again compared to the month before.

Obviously there are fewer bikes on the road, so we’d expect to see a drop in thefts, but while we all need to be aware of crime, the fact is that for motorcycles at least, it’s been in steady decline.

Theft figures show that PTW (Powered Two Wheeler) thefts have consistently been BELOW those of 2022, 2023 and 2024 in every month except July 2025, where they crept up just above those of July 2024, but remained below 2022 and 2023.

Most notable perhaps this month is Bedfordshire, where thefts increased from 10 in November to 19 in December, but in January they’re back down to 10.

If you want to discuss these figures, please join us at bikeclub.bennetts.co.uk

Police Scotland and North Wales saw the biggest increases this month, but the numbers are still relatively low at five and six PTW thefts.

As always, using some form of additional security on your bike goes a huge way to reducing the chances of it being stolen, then you can stop worrying and get on with enjoying yourself. Check out our independent guide to the best motorcycle locks here.

Total PTW thefts January 2026: 1,366 (down 24 from December)

Motorcycle crime news February 2026

Bike thieves tackled in city centre (literally)

West Midlands Police: This is the moment one of our neighbourhood officers tackled a suspected motorbike thief in Birmingham city centre.

PCs Jess Roughley and Keelan Walsh had spotted the riders acting suspiciously in the city centre, riding a bike with no plates and wearing face coverings.

PCs take down criminals

Watch neighbourhood officers tackle masked riders

They asked CCTV operators to track the pair, and PC Walsh ran to where they had stopped just as one of the men had climbed on to another bike parked nearby.

PC Walsh tackled both men and managed to detain one of the suspects on Navigation Street, outside Grand Central, just before 7pm yesterday (29 January).

The second suspect managed to flee, and efforts to identify and arrest him continue.

Ch Insp Vicki Stott, of Birmingham Police, said: "This was absolutely first rate work by officers.

"Great communication between them and CCTV operators has meant that we’ve recovered a stolen bike and stopped another one from being taken."

The motorbike the men were riding had been stolen in Birmingham earlier in the day.

A man aged 18 remains in custody today on suspicion of vehicle theft offences, and assault with intent to resist arrest.

Anyone who recognises the suspect who managed to get away has been asked to call 101, quoting 20/130026/26.

Stolen bike leads to gun charges

West Midlands Police: We’ve charged a man with firearms offences after our officers recovered a gun in Coventry.

Traffic officers spotted a suspected stolen motorbike just after 6.15pm on Saturday (17 January).

It was stopped in Proffitt Avenue and a man was detained.

We recovered a bag whereby a viable, loaded firearm was seized. We've carried out further searches and recovered a cartridge.

Oliver Purchases, aged 23, of Coventry, has now been charged with possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, and criminal damage.

He was remanded in custody to appear before Coventry magistrates today.

We're running Operation Target as part of our drive to take weapons off the streets and tackle serious and organised crime.

Bike thief arrested in Farnborough

Hampshire Police: A 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of several offences following a fail-to-stop incident in Farnborough.

Officers were on a proactive patrol when they noticed a motorbike with two men on the back travelling at speed along Hawley Road at around 10pm on Sunday 18 January.

The rider failed to stop for police and the bike later collided with a bush. The two men sprinted off but the rider was detained after a short foot chase.

Officers carried out a search and located a catapult with metal ball bearings, cannabis, drug paraphernalia a lock knife. All items were seized.

The rider also failed a drugs wipe test which came back as positive for cannabis.

The man from Yateley was arrested on suspicion of:

• Theft of motor vehicle

• Fail to stop a mechanically propelled vehicle when required by constable

• Use a motor vehicle on a road / public place without third party insurance

• Drive a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence

• Possess an offensive weapon in a public place

• Drive a motor vehicle dangerously

• Possess with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B

• Drive motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit

He has been bailed with conditions, to allow for further enquiries to be carried out.

Prosecutions for bike thieves

Essex Police: In 2024, two men were charged with stealing a motorbike after work by quick-responding officers.

We received a call shortly before 7.30pm on Wednesday 28 August 2024 reporting a motorbike had been stolen from an address in Kursaal Way, Southend, about 10 minutes earlier.

Using a tracking system, officers were directed to the area of Southend’s High Street.

Although they couldn’t immediately see the motorbike, their attention was drawn to a van at the location.

As officers spoke to the two men inside, they could see the stolen motorbike in the rear of the van. Both men were arrested and the motorbike recovered, all within 25 minutes of it being reported stolen.

At the conclusion of a trial, both men were found guilty of the theft of the vehicle and sentenced at Southend-on-Sea Magistrates' Court on Thursday 22 January.

Driver Jak Croucher, 26, of Knights Way, Brentwood, was issued a community order requiring him to complete 120 hours of unpaid work.

The second man, Mason Strutt, 20, of Great Knightleys, Basildon, was ordered to complete 240 hours as part of a community order.

In addition, both men were ordered to pay £350 compensation.

Croucher was also disqualified from driving for six months after he was convicted of driving an uninsured van on 28 August 2024 at Hadleigh, Benfleet.

Theft of motor vehicles is a force priority and will not be tolerated in Essex.

Stolen bike recovered

Cleveland Police: An investigation is underway after Redcar NPT officers recovered this stolen motorbike in January.

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of theft, and a 19-year-old man and a 19- year-old woman were also arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.  All three were questioned then released on bail while enquiries continue.

Motorcycle crime news you might have missed

Our data shows that using even a basic disc lock can reduce the chances of your motorcycle being stolen by a factor of three, and using heavy-duty security at home can make it less likely to be stolen than the average car.

High-value car crime has the attention of thieves, but while the odds are that you WON'T have your bike stolen, crime has and always will be a sad part of life. By taking some simple extra steps to secure your motorbike, you can make yourself far less likely to fall victim. Check out our regularly updated and totally unbiased guide to the best motorcycle locks here.

You’ll find the previous months’ maps at the bottom of this page, which will help to see how the gangs move around. The figures are obtained from the Police National Computer, and while there will be small discrepancies due to recorded times and other factors, the data gives a clear indication of where crime is at its worst during different times of the year. Please do need to keep in mind that an improving region could still have relatively high rates of theft. Equally, a region that's suffering might be coming from a low base.

Accessing this data costs, so it’s thanks to the support of the two leading motorcycle tracking companies – BikeTrac and Datatool – that we’re able to bring you it.

In order to maintain our editorial independence, we asked these both of these two competitors if they’d like to support it together, and they jumped at it. Professionally monitored trackers can give the fastest possible alert of a theft, which can result in the safe recovery of your motorcycle extremely quickly.

The excellent relationships with Police forces around the UK that BikeTrac and Datatool have can result in action being taken quickly as officers aim not just to secure the stolen bike, but also potentially perform an arrest.

If speed of response and location accuracy are important to you, a monitored tracker can offer the best chance of getting your bike back quickly and with the minimum of damage.

Previous theft data

Over the coming months we’ll add the previous maps here, so you can quickly and easily see how the patterns of crime move around the country at different times of the year.

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