The Metropolitan Police have released footage of controversial new tactics that allow officers to knock suspects off their vehicle to combat the recent increase in moped crime.
The video, released on November 23, shows what Scotland Yard has dubbed ‘tactical contact’, a new strategy employed by the Met’s Operation Venice Investigations Team.
However, a spokesperson for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IPOC) said that they are currently investigating three unrelated occasions in which tactical force may have been used by the police.
One incident involved a teenager who was knocked off a moped in November 2017 and sustained serious injuries. These incidents were not part of the Investigation Team’s new strategy.
A spokesperson for the IPOC told Raven News: “Officers are entitled to use force that is reasonable and proportionate to the circumstances.”
“Ultimately no police tactic can ever be used with impunity in a country where we police by consent – be that tactical contact, the use of firearms or the use of restraint.”
As well as ‘tactical contact,’ police are using tire deflation devices and a DNA tagging spray, which marks suspects with an invisible dye that could later be used to link them to an offence.
This range of tactics has been credited by Scotland Yard as the reason for a dramatic fall in moped-related offences across the capital. The Met said that, from January to October last year, there were a total of 19,455 offences compared to 12,419 in the same period this year – a fall of 36 per cent.
The approach has been criticised by some senior figures, including Diane Abbott who tweeted her disapproval, saying she believed it was potentially dangerous and shouldn’t be done by anyone.
Knocking people off bikes is potentially very dangerous. It shouldn’t be legal for anyone. Police are not above the law https://t.co/boptGhJYbB
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) 27 November 2018
A report by The Guardian earlier this year also revealed police officers going undercover as delivery drivers to catch suspects. However, the report was clear that the approach was “entirely operational and police officers are not delivering takeaway food to members of the public.”
Commander Amanda Pearson of Frontline Policing said: “There is a perception that if you remove your helmet or fail to stop for police when requested to do so, we will not take any further course of action. This is untrue.”
“So our message is clear: we can, we will and we do target those involved in moped and motorcycle crime at every opportunity.”
Commander Pearson, who was optimistic about the police strategy, said: “The public quite rightly expects us to intervene to keep London safe. Our highly trained police drivers weigh up the risks and decide upon the most appropriate tactics in those circumstances.”