UK motorcycle theft news, videos & stats

Seeing how criminal gangs move their operations around the UK can help motorcyclists realise the importance of locking their bikes, and be more prepared when thefts rise in their area.

This map shows the increases and decreases of motorcycle and scooter thefts by comparing the last full month’s data with the month before that. Remember – this is a MONTHLY overview.

Open the tab below the map to show the data in full, as the colours represent the CHANGE to theft rates reported by each Police force, not the quantity.

Motorcycle theft news

At Bennetts BikeSocial we’re constantly updating our in-depth reviews of the best motorcycle locks for home and away, trackers, alarms and more here. We’ll also use this crime stats page to keep you updated on the latest news from police forces, industry experts and security providers, as well as from the regular Motorcycle Crime Reduction Group meetings...

This month's theft stats explained

It’s great to see that Cheshire police have more than halved PTW (Powered Two Wheeler) thefts in the past month, going from 20 to nine, with Dyfed and Powys close behind dropping from six to three.

Kent Police reported a 25% drop from 56 to 42, thanks to a clampdown by officers. Chief Superintendent Neil Loudon said: "We are continuing to proactively identify and target suspects, including those we know travel from areas of London and Essex to target homes and vehicles in west Kent which are close to the motorway network.

"Many of the higher value vehicles stolen are targeted by criminals who then ship them overseas, but we are working closer than ever with our colleagues from neighbouring police forces to crack the organised gangs responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime."

While March has brought more red to the map, when the worst performer – Cumbria – has gone from one theft to three, the picture isn’t quite as bleak.

Police Scotland’s reporting covers the whole area, but the increase (the second in as many months) to 38 thefts is still most likely to be focussed around the more urban areas.

The Metropolitan force continues to see the highest levels of PTW theft (which includes scooters) at 496 (up from 402), but it’s Cambridgeshire’s jump of 107.69%, and nearby Northamptonshire’s 90% that seems a particular cause for concern as it could be a sign of criminal gangs’ operations moving into that area.

Nearby West Midlands police saw an increase of 57.5%, taking thefts from 80 to 126.

This continues the upward trend that started in last month’s reporting, but to give some perspective to the figures, in 2024 the average number of JUST Ford cars stolen in the same area was 246 per month. The top 20 cars alone accounted for 11,290 thefts in West Midlands in 2024, leading to an average of 941 per month.

In total, 13,545 vehicles (cars and PTWs) were stolen in the West Midlands Police force region between 1 February 2024 and 1 February 2025 (an average of 1,129/month). In the same period 1,623 arrests were made in direct relation to vehicle theft and 932 vehicles were recovered. See the news below for just one of the successes West Midlands Police have had in tackling crime.

As always, locking up your motorcycle or scooter makes it significantly less likely to be stolen, and avoids it being part of these statistics.

Total PTW thefts Mar25: 1,770  (+387 from Feb)

Our data shows that using even a basic disc lock can reduce the chances of your motorcycle being stolen by a factor of three, and using heavy-duty security at home can make it less likely to be stolen than the average car.

High-value car crime has the attention of thieves, but while the odds are that you WON'T have your bike stolen, crime has and always will be a sad part of life. By taking some simple extra steps to secure your motorbike, you can make yourself far less likely to fall victim. Check out our regularly updated and totally unbiased guide to the best motorcycle locks here.

You’ll find the previous months’ maps at the bottom of this page, which will help to see how the gangs move around. The figures are obtained from the Police National Computer, and while there will be small discrepancies due to recorded times and other factors, the data gives a clear indication of where crime is at its worst during different times of the year. Please do need to keep in mind that an improving region could still have relatively high rates of theft. Equally, a region that's suffering might be coming from a low base.

Accessing this data costs, so it’s thanks to the support of the two leading motorcycle tracking companies – BikeTrac and Datatool – that we’re able to bring you it.

In order to maintain our editorial independence, we asked these both of these two competitors if they’d like to support it together, and they jumped at it. Professionally monitored trackers can give the fastest possible alert of a theft, which can result in the safe recovery of your motorcycle extremely quickly.

The excellent relationships with Police forces around the UK that BikeTrac and Datatool have can result in action being taken quickly as officers aim not just to secure the stolen bike, but also potentially perform an arrest.

If speed of response and location accuracy are important to you, a monitored tracker can offer the best chance of getting your bike back quickly and with the minimum of damage.

Previous theft data

Over the coming months we’ll add the previous maps here, so you can quickly and easily see how the patterns of crime move around the country at different times of the year.

Why is Scotland's data not complete?

Since 1 April 2013, Police Scotland has been responsible for policing across the whole of Scotland, covering 28,168 square miles. It's a third of the UK's landmass, though is home to around 5.5 million people, compared with 8.9 million in London .

The most granular detail readily available (without wasting the Police's time with freedom of information requests that would be out of date by the time responses were received) is the quarterly management reports downloadable from Police Scotland, however, these still don't provide us with the information that would allow us to separate PTWs thefts by council area.

Northern Ireland's data is reported as a group too, being covered by PSNI (Police Service Northern Ireland), and with a total population of 1.9 million.

We've now got some extra data in our Scotland reporting, which is helping to see some of the hot-spots.

If you’d like to chat about this article or anything else biking related, join us and thousands of other riders at the Bennetts BikeSocial Facebook page and be sure to sign up to our exclusive motorcycle forum, BikeClub.