WARNING: Is YOUR area seeing an increase in motorcycle theft?

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

Powered Two Wheeler thefts (so that includes motorcycles and scooters) were DOWN in June 2025 compared to May. Dorset Police recorded an impressive drop from 31 to 10, while Gwent took thefts from 31 to 13, and South Yorkshire dropped from 71 to 47.

Last month we reported that Cambridgeshire saw 39 PTW (Powered Two Wheeler) thefts, but Police National Computer data that came in after that was published showed that it ended up being 41. However, that’s dropped back down to 35 for June. Still up on April, but a positive trend, and Cambridgeshire Police is ruging scooter and moped owners to lock up their bikes after the spike in thefts – between 1 May and 9 June there were 29 reported thefts in Cambridge city alone. Sergeant Kevin Sutcliffe from the Cambridge city neighbourhood team, said: “We’re seeing an increase in mopeds, scooters and motorbikes of all makes and models being taken from driveways, car parks and public places by simply being wheeled away.

“Thieves only need a matter of seconds to steal one, especially if they are left with poor security. We’re asking owners to take preventative measures to deter thieves.” Locking your motorcycle is vitally important to significantly reduce the chances of having YOUR bike stolen.

The highest number of thefts – with a large proportion being scooters – remains in the population-dense Metropolitan Police area with 601, though this is still a drop of 2.75% compared to May.

Nottinghamshire Police's theft figures have also reduced, in part thanks to the outstanding work of officers as shown in the news stories 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 had the biggest increase in motorcycle thefts by a long way at 700%, which could well be an indicator of a gang working the area. We’re unable to narrow it down to a specific region due to the way the numbers are recorded, but do keep in mind that this huge jump still represents just eight PTWs stolen in total, up from only one last month.

North Yorkshire Police’s excellent work dropping thefts from 24 in April to eight in May has sadly turned around, with a jump back up to 16 in June.

West Midlands continues to be a problem, with thefts rising from 137 to 156. Nearby Staffordshire has risen more sharply, from 50 to 71, while Hampshire has gone from 53 to 80.

Total PTW thefts June 2025: 2,064  (down 72 from April)

Top story: Merseyside Police’s Operation Needle slashes motorcycle thefts during IoM TT

Merseyside Police is welcoming a further reduction in motorbike thefts in Liverpool during this year’s Isle of Man TT festival.

The TT races, which ran from Monday 26 May to Saturday 7 June, saw more than 6,000 racegoers on their motorcycles stopping in Liverpool, often staying overnight to enjoy the city before continuing to the Isle of Man via ferry from Liverpool.

Of those, two had their motorbikes stolen in Anfield with none taken in the city centre – down from 11 thefts overall last year.

Keep your bike safe!

Merseyside Police’s advice is always to lock your bike as best you can

To ensure visitors had a safe and enjoyable time in the city, Merseyside Police co-ordinated with Liverpool City Council, Liverpool BID Company, car park providers, hotels, Liverpool Ports Police, Lancashire Constabulary and the Isle of Man Constabulary

The focus of Operation Needle, Merseyside Police’s response to the increase in motorbike traffic, is to prevent theft of and from motorcycles, reassure motorcyclists and visitors to Liverpool city centre, and to identify, disrupt and bring to justice anyone involved in motorcycle theft. 

There were no reported thefts of motorcycles in Liverpool city centre during the operation, compared with five thefts there last year. Operation Needle extended into Anfield and Kirkdale for the first time this year, where there were two motorbike thefts reported – a 66% reduction compared to last year when a total of six motorcycles linked to the TT races were stolen in the Anfield area during the two weeks.

In addition to reducing motorcycle thefts, officers supporting the operation also located a stolen car in the Ropewalks area, seized a scooter after it failed to stop for officers on Leeds Street and arrested a car driver on suspicion of drink driving near the Isle of Man Ferry Terminal.

Thanks to financial support from the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership (NVCRP), Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) Foundation and British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) enhanced security measures were funded across city centre hotels including heavy duty bike chains hired out to guests and Safer S1 Pods equipped with CCTV and motion detection.

Sergeant Craig Winstanley, Op Needle, said: “It is great to see the work of many partner agencies paid off this year, with another reduction in the number of bike thefts.

“While it is regrettable two people suffered the anguish of having their motorbikes stolen, significantly less people fell victim than previous years.

“This is thanks to our joint effort with partners and our commitment to listen to the motorcycle community, consider their concerns and take action to protect motorcycles.

“From speaking to motorcyclists from both the UK and overseas, they have given us really positive feedback about the security measures we have been able to implement thanks to the additional funding we have received.

“They were able to enjoy everything Liverpool has to offer without their trip being tainted, and we hope to build on this success for future events.”

Mark Kameen, Project Lead, NVCRP, said: “The NVCRP is pleased to have supported this year’s Operation Needle in partnership with Merseyside Police, the BMF, and MAG. The deployment of targeted crime prevention measures has proven to be an effective deterrent, with no reported motorcycle thefts in areas where the security provisions were in place.

“Achieving a 100% reduction in thefts compared to previous years highlights the impact of proactive, collaborative efforts. This initiative stands as a clear example of how public and private sector partnerships, underpinned by strategic investment and a preventative approach, can deliver meaningful results in the fight against organised vehicle crime."

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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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