London officers have confiscated more than 2,500 illegal electric bikes and scooters in 2026, surpassing the entire previous year's total of 2,241, as a crackdown linked to a steep decline in street crime accelerates.
The latest seizure on Saturday near Tottenham Court Road Station, part of Operation Lexand, netted 29 e-bikes and seven e-scooters and produced two arrests, one involving assault on an emergency worker. The Metropolitan Police and Nottinghamshire Police remain the only UK forces deploying portable roadside dynamometer kits to test vehicle legality on the spot.
Authorities say the campaign has helped cut phone theft in the West End by roughly half. Neighbourhood offences across London fell 14% in the year to June 2026, a drop of about 35,000 incidents, including more than 23,000 fewer personal thefts and nearly 3,000 fewer robberies. Five further operations are planned through the summer.