Last week, officers carried out action to tackle illegal and anti-social use of e-bikes and bike theft in Swansea city centre as part of Operation Lathyrus.

The operation, which was set up in response to continued incidents of bike thefts and anti-social bike use in the city centre, has seen numerous complaints received from concerned members of the public around the speed that e-bikes are being ridden around the city centre area.

On Friday (July 12), officers were deployed to several locations around the city, with a bike-marking tent and stand set up in Castle Gardens. Officers provided education and crime prevention advice to bike users, and utilised bike-marking kits to provide them with a unique code that can be registered to the Selectamarks website – https://www.selectamark.co.uk/ – to provide police with an instant way of identifying the owner of a stolen bike.

Officers also carried out enforcement action, which saw:

Three bikes seized due to having been illegally modified;
Two people reported for driving a vehicle with no insurance;
One person arrested for possession with intent to supply Class B drugs concealed in a delivery bag.

In total, fourteen bike-marking kits and twelve locks were handed out.

Constable Gareth Jennings of City Neighbourhood Policing Team lead the Lathyrus team, which included other officers and PCSOs.
Officers worked in partnership with City Centre Rangers and Immigration officers. Two people were also arrested for immigration offences.

PC Jennings said:

“We are committed to responding to the needs and concerns raised by the community and will continue to play a part in disrupting ASB and criminality on our streets.”