‘Blatant’ motorcycle thieves in Leeds ‘out of control’ as bikers urge police to tackle rising number of unsolved crimes

Bikers across the city have called on West Yorkshire Police to take greater steps to tackle the rising number of motorcycle thefts across the city.

Steven Dean, 48, set up a Facebook page called West Yorkshire Bike Crime two years ago after a friend’s bike was stolen in a bid to raise awareness.

But he said the issue was now so prevalent there were up to “five or six” posts about motorcycles being stolen every day in Leeds and across the region.

Ride-outs around Leeds and demonstrations outside of Elland Road Police Station have been organised by members of the group, in a bid to express their frustration and to call for more to be done by police.

It comes as the Yorkshire Evening Post and parent company National World today launches our Silent Crime campaign, which aims to highlight the number of low-level and unreported crime sweeping the country and going unpunished.

On motorcycle thefts in Leeds, Mr Dean said that bikers do not feel that they have the backing of police. He told the YEP: “People are getting their bikes stolen and then getting a crime reference number and that’s the end of it.

“Something really needs to change so that police can do more. People are getting frustrated.”

Mr Dean said an officer last year offered to meet with group members every six weeks “to chat about bike crime” - but after meeting with them once, in August 2023, “that was it”.

He did, however, express sympathy with the position the police often find themselves in when it comes to applying the law to take action.

Mr Dean added: “We have spoken with the off-road [policing] team and they say they are doing what they can but they are limited in what they can do and that there needs to be a change of the law.”

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The Leeds-based Facebook group now acts as a space where riders can share information about theft suspects and somewhere they can issue appeals.

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Mr Dean said some stolen bikes have been traced as a result of the page but that they were trying to dissuade users from taking the law into their own hands.

He said that a lot of the stolen motorcycles were now being sold on - and that thieves were emboldened by what he claimed was a lack of police activity to recover them.

“They think to themselves ‘well the police won’t do anything so let’s just do it’,” he said.

“They are just doing it blatantly. It’s getting out of hand.”

Following a previous story about motorcycle crime in Leeds, a West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “We recognise there are concerns in Leeds District regarding motorbike-related crime and are aware of instances where stolen motorbikes have been advertised for sale on social media.

“Enquiries are ongoing to identify those responsible and we will take positive action where people are found to be in possession of, or using a stolen motor vehicle.

“We also work closely with our partner agencies to tackle vehicle theft and would ask anyone who believes they have information about a stolen motor vehicle to report it by calling 101, or using our livechat facility on the West Yorkshire Police website.

“Information can also be reported anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”