Thank you to the group of residents from Chadderton who came to my office last week to raise concerns on off-road biking. They have rightly had enough of this lawless behaviour where reckless bikers act with no regard for safety of themselves or of other people.
I share these concerns, which is why in April we raised issues with the Roads Policing Unit, got assurances off them about their commitment to police these issues robustly, and then raised awareness of Operation Snap and it’s online submission of incidents portal.
On the back of the group of residents meeting my team early last week, a community meeting was held with local residents, the Neighbourhood Policing Team, and the Council Community Safety Team in Chadderton with regards to off road biking & knife crime late last week.
Although I couldn’t attend myself due to parliamentary and ministerial commitments, a member of my team went on my behalf, along with Chadderton Central Labour Councillors Elaine Taylor and Naz Islam.
Unregistered & uninsured bikes plaguing the area were spoken about by residents, with some of these incidents linked to knife crime. This is unacceptable, local people deserve better.
It is encouraging that the Police and Council have reaffirmed their commitment to action, by initiating a Section 59 notice which gives powers to seize & crush bikes, and considering a Section 60 stop-and-search notice if there are issues with young people & knives, especially off the back of the tragic incident Fairway Inn.
At the election last July, one of my four priorities for local people was to create a safe place and tackling off road biking plays a big part in that so justice is maintained for criminals & victims, and so we can take back our streets.
Local people deserve to feel safe in the place they call home. We will continue to support GMP in getting these bikes off our roads, work with & meet residents personally to tackle specific cases & give local people confidence, and ensure all forms of dangerous driving & off-road biking are being clamped down on.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 