Be vigilant tonight - moped crew spotted in HOP

Saw two black guys on a moped dressed in all black zooming up and down Garthorne Rd no number plates.

Thanks for the warning! Let’s keep our eyes on them and get some photos to send to @ForestHillSNT / @CroftonParkSNT if there’s any trouble.

Thanks for letting everyone know.

Hope you rung 999 as it is an offence to have no number plates ??

Ridiculous to even suggest reporting a moped without a number plate as an emergency, they have far more pressing issues to deal with for goodness sake!

Thanks Chris - I couldn’t think of the appropriate number which is why I didn’t include it - for some reason 101 just will not stick with me…

Not ridiculous at all , If people keep reporting these scum bags instead of just wittering on here the police would get some idea of where they hang out. They are probably storing these bike locally tucked away down side alleys and around the back of communal garages /parking bays, so the police you would assume would come upon them Ringing . 999 or 101 i am sure your soon be put through to someone who will take down the location and description .

Something to be seriously aware of re local moped enabled crimes.

At around 23:30hrs on Wednesday, 28 June plain clothes officers from Bromley Crime Squad were carrying out patrols in the Betts Park area, just off Anerley Road.

A moped with a rider and a pillion passenger stopped opposite them. Two men got off and approached the officers but seem to realise who they were and made off.

A male Detective Constable pursued the first suspect on foot into Seymour Villas SE20 and then an alleyway. There the suspect produced a shotgun and pointed it at the officer before making off.

No shots were fired and the DC was not injured.

A male PC chased the second suspect along Anerley Road where he got back on the moped and drive it directly at the officer. The officer struck out with his baton and the suspect fell from the moped before making off on foot in the direction of Elmers End.

An extensive search of the area took place with firearms and borough officers, dog units and a police helicopter but the suspects, described as black and aged 16-20, could not be traced.

A loaded shotgun was recovered in the alleyway along with a knife.

As Chris pointed out earlier, please use 101 for reporting this type of crime, as the Police have stated.

999 is for emergencies only and this is clearly not the case here. I am sure you will get there eventually…

It’s only going to get worse. The police are powerless and the criminals know it. They’ve found the perfect crime. Can’t use CCTV because of helmets. Easy to get away via footpaths that police can’t follow. Chance that they are caught in the act is very small. After the act is done it’s very hard to identify / prove anything.

I hate to say this, but something horrible will probably have to happen before anything is done about it.

I agree, although some horrible things have been happening already. These kids/young men are nothing but COWARDS, brandishing knives, guns etc…but what I would like to know is where do the parents stand on all of this? I know there is the issue of broken homes, but they can’t all come from them.
Also who or what site is selling these guns etc to them in the first place??

Now they’re wielding serious weapons and actively attacking police officers, I wonder if an armed police response will be authorised to deal with them next time?

I hope so.

Sadly if this comes to fruition I fear the police will be accused of “brutality” or an “-ism” …and then we’ll see more riots.

They already are, ARVs/FOs with deployed and carried weapons (ie out of the safe in the vehicles) were in significant presence a couple of weekends ago after the mugging on Brockley Rise.

Other than Brexit going drastically wrong, this is the single biggest issue facing the UK motorcycle industry at the moment and there’s not much motorcycle manufacturers can do about it other than hope that the criminal justice system gets its act together. Even if ecvery single new motorcycle was entirely theft proof, the average age of a motorcycle has been creeping up over the years so that the mean age is 13 years old meaning it would take nearly 15 years for half of the motorcycle fleet to be unstealable (not that this is physically possible in any instance).

I’m afraid the only way to bring these hoodlums to heel is to literally catch enough of them and lock them up so that it acts as a deterrent to the rest as a £300 fine (no, really) is clearly not enough.

God, I sound like a grumpy old man…

Nope, you sound just like me. 3 Bikes stolen, 1 attempted theft and 1 theft and recovery. All in 3 years. I would not own a bike in London now.