EXCLUSIVE: Reports of anti-social motorbike crimes on the rise again in Edinburgh
Bike thefts are down but calls to police about rowdy behaviour are up.
Last updated 28th Aug 2019
Forth News can reveal police in Edinburgh have recorded 15% rise in reports of anti-social behaviour relating to motorbikes over the last year.
But at the same time, there has been a decline in the number of thefts.
Police launched a range of new tactics in 2018 to deal with the crimes such as the use of DNA tagging spray and the deployment of off-road motorbikes.
It is also an issue previously highlighted by Forth News with our Break the Cycle campaign.
Anti-social behaviour has been reduced but the latest crime figures suggest there is still a significant problem.
Chief Inspector Jill Geany of Police Scotland said, "In terms of thefts of motor vehicles we have actually seen a 15% decline in the last year to date.
"What that actually means is we've got 24 fewer people who have been victims of thefts of their bikes.
"We've had 134 stolen, but have recovered 59 of them."
Commenting on the rise of anti-social behaviour, Chief Inspector Geany said it could be down to increased awareness.
She said, "It could be that the public are coming on board a lot more and are phoning stuff in and we're actually receiving a lot of intelligence.
"That could be why there's slight rise".
Robert Pearson, chair of the North Edinburgh residents group 'Tenants and Residents in Muirhouse and Friends of West Pilton', says the problem has become more common again.
"We've found over the last few weeks the number of incidents reported to our group has went up. We've had with individuals on motorbikes doing wheelies down our streets, through our play parks.
"Police Scotland had it very much under control but all of a sudden the foot has come off the gas."
Mr Pearson called on courts to hand out tougher punishments. He said ""The courts need to really, really look at this. How is it affecting this community?
"What happens is individuals are taken up to the courts, it's a revolving door at the courts, they just get back out and re-offend again.""
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