Halloween crime crackdown in Leeds sees weapons and stolen motorbikes seized by police

To tackle the motorbike-related crime, additional officers from various policing divisions – including a National Police Air Service fixed wing aircraft – targeted patrols into key “hotspot” areas of the city with the aim of disrupting and deterring any motorbike-related crime and anti-social behaviour on Halloween.

During the evening, three suspected stolen motorcycles were recovered, including one within an hour of it having been taken. An electric bike was also seized in relation to driving offences.

Three males were arrested for offences including theft of motorcycles, possession of offensive weapons, possession of drugs with intent to supply and dangerous driving.

Temporary Chief Superintendent Sareth Humpage, who led Monday night’s operation, said: “Halloween is a time when we can unfortunately see an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour, particularly incidents involving stolen motorbikes and electric bikes.

“This operation saw us targeting extra resources into key areas to deter and disrupt any such activity and provide increased visible reassurance to the public.

“The arrests and seizures that resulted from the operation show the value of this type of increased proactivity, which builds on the ongoing work that district neighbourhood policing team officers, alongside partner agencies, are continuing to carry out to address these issues.

“We hope it will help to demonstrate to our communities that we are committed to doing everything we can to keep targeting those responsible and to reduce the number of incidents.”