Bikers face court action after crackdown on South Shields motor menaces sees 14 bikes seized

Officers in South Shields have taken 14 bikes off the road since the start of May as part of Operation Bungo.

Neighbourhood Inspector Phil Baker said: “The officers who have been working this operation for the past six weeks have been phenomenal.

“They have listened to the concerns of residents, identified where disorderly motorcycle riding has been taking place and then they have targeted those areas.

“It is community policing at its best and it has yielded some fantastic results with 14 motorcycles uplifted, including two we believe to have been stolen.

“A number of those individuals riding the motorcycles have been summonsed to court and we know residents across South Shields are satisfied with our activity.

“But we all have a role to play and we need to hear from you if you have information about disorder. You are our eyes and ears in the community so please pick up the phone and call police.”

Operation Bungo neighbourhood officers have been helped by a team from Northumbria Police’s forcewide Operation Benelli.

Operation Benelli reviews every incident where motorcycles have been used in crimes to try to establish any patterns of behaviour.

Victims are also spoken for intelligence about those involved in the disorder.

Drugs, weapons, money and stolen property have all been seized by the taskforce following their inquiries.

Sergeant Fran Joyce, who oversees Operation Benelli, said: “There has been some fantastic work going on in South Shields and we have been reviewing that data so we can continue to monitor those patterns of behaviour.

“A lot of this is teenagers riding at speed on their bikes and causing a nuisance but often these same individuals are involved in serious criminality.

“We won’t tolerate theft or violence in our communities and if we suspect individuals are involved in criminality we seize their motorcycles and they could end up before the courts.”

Pictures, video or intelligence can be emailed to the team at [email protected].

The public can also call 101 and ask for the Operation Benelli team or report information online at the force’s www.northumbria.police.uk website.

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