Metropolitan Police 'posing as delivery drivers to catch moped criminals'

Prime minister Theresa May promises new powers for forces to tackle problem

Police officers are reportedly disguising themselves as takeaway delivery drivers to catch London’s moped-riding criminals.

A surge in the use of mopeds to carry out muggings, assaults and acid attacks has also prompted Prime Minister Theresa May to promise new powers to the police to help them catch the culprits.

In the year to May 2018, there were 22,025 crimes committed on mopeds in London, while only 14,699 took place in the previous 12 months. Despite the sharp year-on-year rise, police said there had been a steady decrease in the last four months.

High-profile moped-related crimes have kept the issue in the public eye. A 14-year-old boy was charged in connection with seven robberies in the space of one hour earlier this week. The teenager is accused of being a passenger on a moped used to carry out a crime spree in the north of the capital.

Scotland Yard said he was found with 13 mobile phoned in his possession.

In a separate incident, a 24-year-old woman was left in a critical condition after she was punched by a criminal attempting to steal from her in north London. On the same day, comedian Michael McIntyre was robbed by thieves on mopeds armed with hammers as he waited to pick up his children from school. They took his watch after smashing in the windows of his black Range Rover.

Delivery drivers working in London have been targeted by criminals on mopeds. Last July, hundreds of delivery drivers protested outside parliament after an acid attack on an Uber Eats driver.

A 14-year-old boy was charged with murder last week over the death of Mark Fontaine, 41, who was reportedly working as a delivery driver when he was stabbed to death in Kensington, west London, in May.

London’s Metropolitan Police refused to confirm or deny officers were posing as delivery drivers, saying it could not “comment on covert policing methods or tactics due to operational reasons”.

Under government proposals to the law in England and Wales, police who pursue suspects riding mopeds will be made less vulnerable to prosecution.

Police chiefs have warned officers could find themselves in court over high-speed chases, since they can be prosecuted for dangerous or careless driving in the same way as other motorists. All emergency services, including the police, are exempt from speed limit, traffic light and sign violations when they are responding to a 999 call. But they are still able to be prosecuted for dangerous and careless driving.

Speaking from the G7 summit in Quebec, Ms May iterated her commitment to reforming the law around pursuing moped criminals.

“We are looking at the pursuit that police are able to make of these people, and actually ensuring they have got the powers that they need,” she told reporters. “They must be able to pursue them and able to take the action we agree that they want to take.”

She added: “This issue of moped crime is one that is of concern for people”.

The Met has introduced a range of new measures to combat crimes committed on scooters in recent years, including new slimline motorcycles designed for narrow streets, remote-control activated spikes and fluorescent DNA spray that stays on skin for up to eight weeks.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “We cannot confirm or deny the existence of such an operation or tactic, nor can we comment on covert policing methods or tactics due to operational reasons.”