Remember Jessica Chisnall

Merseyside Police has led recent national discussions on the development of tactics to rid streets and fields of dangerously ridden scrambler bikes, in the hope that all forces will never experience the same tragedy it faced earlier this year. Jessica Chisnall was knocked down by two 14-year-olds riding an off-road bike along the pavement in January. She suffered life-changing injuries. The tragedy that befell Jessica was the inspiration for an event to raise awareness about scrambler bike use on pavements, off-road, on road and even through busy shopping malls, where serious injury is becoming all too common. Many police managers still see the problem as one of anti-social behaviour, but the growing use of typically stolen motorbikes to commit serious crime, and the dangers posed by their irresponsible use, has begun to shake forces into lifting the issue up the agenda and making it a greater priority. In many urban areas it has been the rise of ‘Bike Life’ – riders performing stunts on motorbikes on public roads – and organised ‘ride-outs’ by scrambler bikes and all terrain vehicles (ATVs) that has caused immense concern. Their use on farmland is dominating discussions in rural areas too. And in London, scramblers and scooters are stolen at a phenomenal rate, often to be used in robberies within half an hour of being taken, making it one of the biggest challenges facing the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) today. However, every force should be concerned about the potential for the devastation that was caused by the serious collision to 15-year-old Jessica in St Helens. The event was captured on CCTV, footage of which was shown to the The Criminal, Dangerous and Anti-Social Use of Motorcycles Conference last month, and the issue is now subject to judicial proceedings with the future of a number of children severely damaged. But the issue also threatens police officers’ careers, as they attempt to intervene without injuring anyone, especially the riders. The legal issues are discussed later in this article but the proportionality of using stinger-type devices was a major discussion at the conference, particularly with inconsistent use across the country threatening their legitimacy when they are deployed. Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for police pursuits, said Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds and London witnessed havoc on the streets in 2016 – with significant police reputation damage – when lawless offenders took to the streets en masse. “The MPS and others also experience high levels of criminality on two wheels, including high-value robberies and thefts; we know that we have to respond,” he told delegates. But the police should not be the only ones to deal with the problem, Mr Bangham added, education and industry also have a responsibility. “We had very limited tactics but we now have some solutions; some forces are restricting the use of tyre-deflating devices which is creating inconsistency and uncertainty,” he said. “We have regions in which one force can use the tactic but not across the force border. “When it is included in the authorised professional practice, the tactic should be available to you.” There also needs to be a focus on designing out criminal and anti-social use of motorcycles, a whole systems approach, and being open to the idea that police tactics are not the only solution. “Today we want to give confidence to officers to use the whole range of tactics,” said Mr Bangham. Operation Brookdale Merseyside Police’s Superintendent Jenny Sims expanded on Operation Brookdale, (featured in PP547 as a preview to the conference), giving greater detail on the lessons from addressing the issue. Having begun in 2012, Brookdale was seen as tackling anti-social behaviour, by ‘high vis patrols’ and supported by traffic officers. In 2015, when Supt Sims took charge, vulnerability and burglary were of higher priority to operational leaders. However, the public was saying scrambler bikes were a priority in ei