UK motorcycle theft report AUGUST: Crime trends & arrest stories

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.

This month's theft stats explained

Last month saw a 12% reduction in Powered Two Wheeler (PTW) theft by West Midlands Police, and we’ve seen that drop again in August by 14%. It’s still a challenging area, but the highest numbers continue to occur in the extremely population and PTW-dense Metropolitan Police area, though that too has seen an 18% reduction in thefts.

The best performer this month was Cleveland Police, dropping by 79% to three PTW thefts in July. Cambridgeshire also saw a great improvement of 56% and the map above certainly shows things looking up across a large proportion of the south of the UK compared to last month (see the previous data below).

Remember, these stats help us all to understand where crime in on the increase, giving a valuable insight into where gangs are potentially focussing.

Northern Ireland was hit hard in August with an increase of 267%, though numbers still remain relatively low at 11 PTWs stolen.

Scotland looks to be suffering with Grampian, Tayside, Strathyclyde and Lothian & Borders all reporting increases, though overall numbers remain low with the total thefts reported in Scotland being 76, with the highest in the Lothian & Borders area, which increased by 32% to 25 thefts in July

As always, remember that even using a basic disc lock can make your bike three times less likely to be stolen, so invest in decent security, use it then stop worrying and enjoy your bike!

Total PTW thefts August 2025: 1941, 2125 (Down 184  from July)

Top story: “One detained, bitten by the dog”

Nottinghamshire Police: A police dog and handler have been praised for an ‘exemplary bit of work’ after a suspected motorcycle thief was tracked over open ground, chased across a field and safely detained.

Officers were called after a member of the public spotted two suspected stolen motorcycles in the possession of three men.

PD Seth bites suspected bike thief

Watch brave dog take down suspected criminal

The caller’s suspicion had been roused as neither bike had number plates attached, and one was being wheeled along Common Lane, Watnall, on the afternoon of Saturday 23 August.

Police Dod Seth and his handler arrived in the area a short time later and began a search along a gravel track marked by suspicious tire tracks.

Seth – attached to his long lead – soon picked up a trail and led his handler a long way up the path before spotting the suspects and both motorcycles in situ.

As both suspects fled on foot, Seth was released across an open field and soon caught up with one of the suspects – keeping him detained on the floor as his handler caught up.

An 18-year-old was man arrested on suspicion of theft and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

Both stolen bikes were recovered.

Sergeant Nick Dachtler, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was an exemplary bit of work by both dog and hander, who tracked targets over a significant distance before finding exactly what they were looking for.

“Seth, a two year-old Belgian Malinois, is still a relatively new dog but has proven himself again and again to be an exceptional tracker.

“When required, he also has all the pace, power and bravery required to chase and detain anyone we need him to.”

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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 broken down to all regions?

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.

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