Two Scooter Thieves charged with Dangerous Driving

Two 17-year-old males who stole a scooter and later failed to stop for officers in Camden have been arrested for aggravated taking and driving away, dangerous driving and driving with no insurance. Both were further arrested while in custody on suspicion of theft of a scooter. At around 23:50hrs on 29 April, a delivery driver’s locked scooter was stolen while he was making a delivery on Maitland Park Road, Camden. On 1 May at approximately 18:38hrs, two males were seen by officers riding a stolen a scooter at speed on Pond Street, Camden. The scooter failed to stop for officers before riding across Fleet Street junction. Officers coordinated air support, ground units and dog units to search and contain the suspects. The scooter was then seen to mount the footpath and continue towards Cressy Road, NW3, at which point officers sprayed DNA tagging spray at the two males and deflated the tyres of their vehicle using a tyre deflation device, causing it to come to a stop. The two males then made off on foot, abandoning the scooter in the road. Suspect [A] was immediately detained on Agincourt Road, Camden, and suspect [B] was found half-an-hour later, hiding in a garden shed on Mackeson Road, Camden. Both were found to have traces of forensic tagging spray on them, linking them to the stolen bike and the related offences. An angle grinder was also recovered in a bag they had discarded. Both males remain in custody at a north London police station. Commander Julian Bennett said: “Police are working hard to keep the public safe and make the streets hostile territory for criminals who steal scooters, mopeds, motorbikes and bicycles and then use them for other offences. Our policing activity to tackle scooter related crime is making a difference as evidenced here, particularly using a range of new technologies including slim-line motorcycles, DNA spray and automatic tyre deflation devices. “Our message is simple – if you commit a scooter-related crime, you will be found and arrested. We are using every tactic available to us to bring offenders to justice.”