Breathtaking footage shows police knocking moped muggers off their bikes in new tactics to stamp out the scooter crime-wave that has plagued London.

Dashcam video released today shows a squad of specially trained drivers carrying out so called 'tactical contacts', which involve tipping crooks off their scooters or dumping them on the bonnets of police cars.

One incredulous rider raises his hands in indignation after he is sent clattering to the ground, and another told police: 'I took my helmet off so I thought you'd stop chasing me.'

The Met says it only uses the tactic as a last resort to stop muggers who are a risk to pedestrians or putting police in danger.

Police say they are now carrying out 'tactical contacts' every day and have used the method 63 times so far.

Sergeant Tony McGovern, who is one of the specially-trained drivers using the tactic, said: 'They think that if they remove their helmets we'll stop the pursuit, sometimes we may but, as you can see, we have used tactical contact against riders without helmets.'

He said police drivers have to quickly weigh up the risk to the public and the rider before carrying out the manoeuvres, as fleeing criminals often ride along busy pavements or behind railings to evade capture.

The method has been rolled out around the country after a seemingly-unstoppable crime wave gripped the capital this year, with scooter yobs grabbing people's phones, watches and bags, smashing their way into jewellery shops and stabbing anyone who got in their way.

Police say some moped robbers have hit 30 victims in one hour alone, with those coming out of tube stations seen as an easy target.

Police officers have also been injured by thieves riding directly into them.

Police were previously frustrated in catching the criminals, who often discarded their helmets to make officers think twice before chasing them.

Victims of the spate of incidents included ex chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and comedian Michael McIntyre, who was robbed of his Rolex by two men on a moped while parked outside his children's school.

But Scotland Yard chiefs have now vowed to get tough with the gangs as they attempt to take back control of the streets.

Met Commander Amanda Pearson said: 'There is a perception that if you remove your helmet or fail to stop for police when requested to do so we will not take any further course of action. This is untrue.

'The public quite rightly expects us to intervene to keep London safe. Our highly trained police drivers weigh up the risks and decide upon the most appropriate tactics in those circumstances.

'Offenders on mopeds and motorcycles who attempt to evade the police are making a choice that puts themselves and others at risk.

'So our message is clear: we can, we will and we do target those involved in moped and motorcycle crime at every opportunity.'

Police released this footage to show how difficult it is to follow a speeding bike as its rider weaves in and out of small streets on a London housing estate

The Met says it has cut 'moped-enabled crime' by 44 per cent in the last year, from 19,000 offences to 12,500.

They say thefts of moped thefts, often a prelude to more serious crimes, are also down 38 per cent, from 12,000 to 8,000.

Commander Pearson added: 'We are not complacent and we will continue to work tirelessly across London to maintain this downward trend.'

Commanders say no stop carried out by the operation targeting moped criminals has needed to be referred to the police watchdog, although three incidents involving mopeds are being looked at by the IOPC.

Among the most shocking of the incidents that hit the capital in recent years were those involving Nathan Gilmaney and Troy Thomas, who tried to rob as many people as possible in a quickfire series of robberies.

They killed 28-year-old Abdul Samad for his iPhone and little more than 'aggression and blood lust' as they swept across west London on a scooter.

A chilling video shows Gilmaney and Thomas the criminals calmly return to their victim to demand his PIN number before knifing him.

The pair, from Maida Vale, west London, were jailed for more than 20 years each in June.

Following their arrest, police noticed a 40 per cent drop in that type of offending.

Politician turned Evening Standard editor was also hit by moped robbers, who made a grab at his mobile as he left BBC headquarters in Portland Place.

He said: 'I was physically unharmed but felt shocked and stunned. The incident happened so quickly that I barely registered what had happened until afterwards. The scooter was so close that it almost brushed past me. Had it hit me, I have no doubt I would have been seriously injured.'

Another video last year laid bare how brazen the robbers had become after one was filmed walking into a busy cafe and pulling a laptop from a woman's hands.

Footage showed the victim working on her device at the Broad and Bean Cafe in Archway, north London as the helmet wearing thief walks in.

He quickly grabs the computer before running back out of the door and jumping on a waiting moped, which then speeds off. The raid took less than 10 seconds.

Café owner Valbona Sadiku said it was the second time moped robbers have targeted the premises in just three weeks.

She told MailOnline: 'It's unbelievable that these moped gangs will now actually enter peoples' property, it's gone to another level, it's horrific.' </s> Police have released dramatic footage showing officers ramming cars into criminals riding mopeds and sending them tumbling into the road.Scotland Yard said the newly adopted "tactical contact" strategy is in widespread use in London after a rise in robberies, phone snatches and acid attacks using scooters.Moped-enabled crime has plummeted by 36 per cent in the capital year-on-year since the methods were rolled out.Officers feared being jailed or sacked if moped riders were injured during high-speed chases in the past, while criminals have taken their helmets off in the belief it will prevent a pursuit.But the government has backed new legal protections for officers, and the Metropolitan Police said it targets moped criminals "even when they ride dangerously, discard their helmets and disguise themselves in the belief that this will prevent pursuit and their capture".A spokesperson for the Met said "Scorpion" drivers are specially trained to use tactics that "prevent injury occurring to offenders and other people".Targeted riders can be seen getting up or even running from the collisions, and police say any incidents that cause injury are referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.Officers hope the footage will show the "hardline approach" they are prepared to take against criminals using motorbikes, and make potential offenders think twice.People are frequently targeted as they come out of Tube stations, while thieves also snatch handbags, high-value watches and other items.Among the victims have been comedian Michael McIntyre, who had his watch stolen by hammer-wielding moped robbers who smashed his car windows as he waited to pick up his children from school earlier this year.Sajid Javid said he was the victim of a moped mugging before becoming home secretary.Many of the attacks in London have targeted delivery drivers, with the aim of stealing their mopeds, including a spate of acid attacks.Jabed Hussain, the first of five victims attacked in just 90 minutes by moped riders last year, told The Independent that many stolen scooters or number plates were later used to commit crimes or rack up speeding tickets traced back to the original victims, adding: "You're the victim but they think you're a criminal."Victims of moped attacks have called on authorities to prevent criminals using the vehicles with "impunity", but identifying suspects has been made difficult by the wearing of helmets, masks and gloves.From January to October 2017, there were 19,455 moped-enabled offences across London, and this figure was reduced by 36 per cent to 12,419 offences in the same period this year.Met Police Commander Amanda Pearson said Scotland Yard was "not complacent"."Operation Venice is multifaceted, and we can call on all manner of tactics from an experienced investigation team to police helicopters to tackle and arrest offenders," she added."There is a perception that if you remove your helmet or fail to stop for police when requested to do so we will not take any further course of action. This is untrue."The public quite rightly expects us to intervene to keep London safe. Our highly trained police drivers weigh up the risks and decide upon the most appropriate tactics in those circumstances."Offenders on mopeds and motorcycles who attempt to evade the police are making a choice that puts themselves and others at risk."So our message is clear: we can, we will and we do target those involved in moped and motorcycle crime at every opportunity." </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The Met said drivers aim to end pursuits before riders or members of the public are injured

The Met Police has published footage of officers knocking suspected criminals off scooters, at the same time as the watchdog is investigating some crashes.

Videos released by the force show police cars being driven into riders.

The Met says it has cut scooter crime by 36% this year.

However, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it is investigating three cases involving "tactical contact" by Met police cars on scooters.

The number of offences involving scooters has fallen since specialists teams were set up to tackle the problem.

In January 2018 to October 2018 there were 12,419 offences, 7,036 fewer than the same period in 2017.

Image copyright PA Image caption Police officers can use their vehicles to knock moped thieves off their bikes, the Met Police said

The Met says drivers are specially trained and aim to end pursuits before riders or members of the public are injured.

A spokesperson said the tactic is not new but is being used more often by its most highly trained drivers working on Operation Venice; the team set up to tackle scooter gangs.

According to the IOPC, one of the cases being investigated involved a 17-year-old boy who suffered head injuries a year ago in Bexley.

However, none of the three cases involved officers involved with Operation Venice.

Met Police Commander Amanda Pearson said "a lot of them [scooter riders] get up and run away and look aghast as if to say 'how dare we'".

She added: "It's a high impact tactic and therefore our riders and our drivers will be considering the risk to the rider that they are pursuing, the risk to the public and the risk to themselves.

"But in more cases than not it is safer to bring that pursuit to a close than it is to continue to allow that rider driving dangerously through London." </s> Police in London are using specially trained drivers to stop would-be criminals from using motorcycles and mopeds by ramming them with cars.

(LONDON) — Police in London are using specially trained drivers to stop would-be criminals from using motorcycles and mopeds by ramming them with cars.

Police already use automatic tire deflation devices to stop offenders and DNA and forensic evidence to catch them. Now, through what the Metropolitan Police is calling “contact tactics,” drivers have been trained to target criminals who ride dangerously, without helmets or in disguise, in a way officers say prevents injury to both offenders and members of the public.

In a video released on Friday, the Metropolitan Police demonstrated the tactics in the hopes that “potential offenders will think twice about their actions,” the department said in a statement.

 Police want people to know how far they will go to stop criminals through their so-called “Operation Venice.”

“There is a perception that if you remove your helmet or fail to stop for police when requested to do so we will not take any further course of action. This is untrue,” Amanda Pearson, the Met’s frontline policing commander, said in the statement.

The theft of mopeds and motorcycles themselves — as well as their use as getaway vehicles for other crimes — are both of concern to police. Between January and October of this year, 8,261 mopeds have been stolen in London, down from 12,192 for the same time period in 2017.

Pearson said that while police are pleased with the decrease in motorcycle thefts, they will continue to work tirelessly to bring the number further down.

“Our message is clear: we can, we will and we do target those involved in moped and motorcycle crime at every opportunity,” Pearson said in the statement. </s> Dramatic dashcam footage shows Met Police officers ramming moped thugs - sending them flying into the street - as their war on the dangerous gangs takes a hardline approach.

A video montage from Scotland Yard shows police vehicles driven by "Scorpion" officers ploughing into helmeted moped raiders in the street and on pavements as they try to flee.

One scene shows a man flying off his bike and rolling across the bonnet of a police car as one of his shoes is thrown into the air.

Another clip shows a moped rider being hit from behind as he's knocked to the floor and sent spinning in the road.

The astonishing footage reveals the force's new hardline crackdown against moped criminals - including sprays to forensically tag them - who have become a scourge in the capital.

Recent victims have included former chancellor George Osborne, comedian Michael McIntyre and money expert Martin Lewis.

Police announced on Friday that moped crime in London has been nearly cut in half in the last year partly due to officers being trained to knock offenders off their bikes.

Operation Venice recorded a 44 per cent drop in crime involving mopeds across London since October last year.

While front-line officers have been handed sprays to forensically tag both suspects and mopeds on the streets of London, specialised officers are authorised to hit riders with their own vehicle to unseat them.

In May this year, Mohammad Khaleghi was sprayed with the substance as he rode his moped dangerously in Camden.

Photos shared by police show UV light exposing the spray on Khaleghi face. He was jailed for driving without a licence, failing to stop and dangerous driving.

The stops are carried out by uniformed "Scorpion" officers.

The highly-trained drivers are allowed to physically hit a rider on a moped to knock them off their bikes during a pursuit.

Footage of some of the 64 "tactical contacts" that have been carried out by officers so far this year has now been released to the public.

Police say from January to October last year there were 19,455 such offences across London but from January to October this year the numbers had dropped to 12,419 offences.

And in the same period last year there were 12,192 moped thefts across London compared to January 2018 to October 2018 when there were 8,261 offences - a reduction of 38 per cent.

Recent figures have shown the number of offences by criminals on mopeds had increased 30-fold in just five years in the capital.

Some riders have snatched up to 30 mobile phones in an hour from unsuspecting victims in the street.

In October last year, two teens stabbed charity youth worker Abdul Samad, 28, to death for his iPhone during a violent moped robbery spree in Paddington. Both teens were jailed for life.

Commander of Front Line Policing, Amanda Pearson, said officers do not have a specific speed they must hit mopeds at - but have to risk assess the situation before carrying out the controlled stop.

No complaints of serious injury caused during these stops have been made to the IPCC so far, according to the commander.

Officers are primarily encouraged to try other tactics to prevent a pursuit and to slow the suspect vehicle down before the last resort of a tactical contact.

Commander Pearson said: "It's extremely dynamic and rapid. It's forward thinking. We try to mitigate that pursuit but if we end up in a pursuit, if that means tactical contact we are looking at as slow a speed as possible.

"Those rides are not just riding dangerously in a pursuit. They are riding dangerously before it's a police issue. It's not police that are creating that danger.

"We have to weight up the risk to them and to the public - if we don't intervene what is going to happen.

"We acknowledge there's a risk of injury but we have to weigh up that risk of injury to them in terms of ongoing harm should we not intervene."

Chief Inspector Jim Corbett said the force is also trying to dispel the myth that police will not continue a pursuit if a driver takes off his helmet.

Riders can in fact still face being pursued and are at a greater risk of injury if they are thrown from the vehicle without any safety gear.

Chief Inspector Corbett said: "One of the guys we have here in the videos is wearing a balaclava and no helmet. He does not think he's going to be pursued.

"These machines are sometimes 300 to 500cc and are capable of going 100mph.

"Another myth is they think they can't be recognised. A moped robber that made the front page of the Evening Standard wielding a hammer was recognised by his eyes.

"The group of three men arrested in relation to that incident was later found out to be responsible for 103 offences."

Over 6,000 groundbreaking new forensic tagging sprays have also been handed to local officers on the streets.

The sprays are used to "tag" a suspect or suspicious moped without putting the officer at a serious risk of harm.

UV scanners at police stations can then pick up whether an offender has been sprayed - and so they can be linked back to other crimes.

Chief Inspector Corbett said: "6,900 officers have been trained so far. We are going to train everyone.

"If they spray an offender in a location, a custody UV light will pick it up. It's contributing to cutting crime while not putting themselves at risk."

The force has also introduced automatic tyre deflation devices - commonly known as stingers - to stop offenders in their tracks.

Operated by a remote control, the spikes are able to be deployed electronically from a black rectangular box within seconds.

In 2014 Henry Hicks, 18, died when his moped collided with parked cars as he was being pursued by two unmarked police cars </s> A deserted road leading to the scene where a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament to the right of a bus in London, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

A car plowed into pedestrians and cyclists near the Houses of Parliament in London during the morning rush hour Tuesday, injuring three people in what police suspect is the latest in a string of attacks in the British capital that used vehicles as weapons.

Armed police flooded the area after the incident was reported at 7:37 a.m., hauling the driver from the vehicle, arresting him and cordoning off streets surrounding the heart of Britain’s government. The nearby Westminster subway station was closed, and police asked people to stay away from the area.

“Given that this appears to be a deliberate act, the method and this being an iconic site, we are treating it as a terrorist incident,” Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu of the Metropolitan Police told reporters outside Scotland Yard.

A man in his late 20s was arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. The suspect was not co-operating with police, and officers were working to confirm his identity, said Basu, who oversees U.K. counterterrorism policing. No other suspects have been identified and police believe there is no further threat to Londoners, he said.

Basu said “we don’t believe this individual was known” to police or Britain’s intelligence services.

Eyewitnesses said the silver Ford Fiesta car was travelling at high speed when it hit pedestrians and cyclists, then crashed into a barrier designed to protect Parliament from vehicle attack. Two people were taken to local hospitals and another was treated at the scene. One woman remained hospitalized Tuesday afternoon, but her injuries aren’t believed to be life threatening, authorities said.

“The car drove at speed into the barriers outside the House of Lords. There was a loud bang from the collision and a bit of smoke,” Ewelina Ochab told The Associated Press. “The driver did not get out. The guards started screaming to people to move away.”

Jason Williams also saw a car moving at high speed.

“It didn’t look like an accident,” he said. “How do you do that by accident?”

Donovan Parsons, a cameraman for ITV’s “Good Morning Britain,” was filming outside Parliament when he heard a loud crash.

“I saw the car crash into the barrier outside Westminster Palace, with smoke coming out of the vehicle. Police were around it, telling people to get back. … They dragged someone out of the car.”

Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted: “My thoughts are with those injured in the incident in Westminster and my thanks to the emergency services for their immediate and courageous response.”

U.S. President Donald Trump was less measured, tweeting that the crash was “another terrorist attack in London.”

Trump added: “These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength!”

Trump has a history of tweeting about violence, or alleged violence, in London. He angered many when he said a London hospital was like a war zone because of knife violence.

Parliament was the site of an attack in March 2017, when Khalid Masood ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge, killing four people. Masood abandoned his car and then stabbed and killed a police officer before being shot dead in a courtyard outside Parliament.

Less than three months later, a van rammed into pedestrians on London Bridge before three men abandoned the vehicle and attacked weekend revelers in the nearby Borough Market. Eight people were killed and 48 injured in the attack.

RELATED: 10 injured after van plows into crowd near London Mosque

On June 19, 2017, a man drove a van into a crowd of worshippers leaving a mosque in north London, killing one man and injuring eight others.

The official terrorist threat level for Britain is “severe,” indicating an attack is considered highly likely.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Watch: How the incident unfolded

A woman is dead and 22 other people injured after a car sped on to a pavement in New York City's Times Square, the fire department says.

The 26-year-old driver, a US Navy veteran and US citizen, is in custody.

"There is no indication that this was an act of terrorism," said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The maroon Honda jumped the kerb and travelled for three blocks before crashing.

Photos showed the sedan partially on its side on the pavement with smoke and flames spewing from the bonnet.

As-it-happened: Times Square emergency

In pictures: Times Square car crash

The crash follows recent deadly car-ramming attacks in London, Berlin, France, Israel and Sweden.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage shows a man being arrested near to the crashed red car

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Police identify the driver as Bronx resident Richard Rojas

The FBI is investigating the incident at the Midtown Manhattan tourist venue, but so far officials say there is no terror link.

NYPD said the suspect, Richard Rojas, is a Bronx resident who was arrested in 2008 and 2015 for drunk driving.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio: "There is no indication that this was an act of terrorism"

Police believe the suspect was reportedly was high on synthetic marijuana, known as K2, ABC News reported, citing law enforcement sources.

Initial tests reportedly came back negative for alcohol but positive for drugs.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage from the scene shows the injured being tended to by emergency crews

"It is believed to be an isolated incident, it remains under investigation," the New York Police Department said on Twitter.

City authorities said they would nevertheless deploy extra police from anti-terror units to key locations around the city as a precaution.

The vehicle jumped the kerb at 45th Street and Broadway at 1155 local time (1655 GMT) and drove at high speed before crashing into a pole.

Image copyright EPA

Witness Annie Donahey, 24, told the New York Times: "It was going at a fast rate of speed and to me it looked it was trying to hit as many people as possible.

"People were trying to jump out of the way."

Image copyright EPA

Photos from the scene showed casualties strewn across the walkway.

One person was covered with a white cloth.

Among those hurt, four were in critical condition and three sustained serious injuries, according to the fire department.

The department said 15 other victims suffered less serious injuries.

Image copyright EPA

Police said an 18-year-old woman died and her 13-year-old sister was among the injured.

"People were being hit and rolling off the car," said witness Josh Duboff, who jumped out of the way to avoid being struck.

Twitter user Michael Rickerby wrote: "just witnessed a car running people over in times square. scariest moment of my life. what is wrong with some people?!"

Image copyright EPA

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement the event was "nothing short of horrific".

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said President Donald Trump had been informed about the incident.

Image copyright Reuters

Image copyright Reuters

Times Square was the target of an attempted attack in May 2010 when a Pakistani immigrant planted a car bomb at an intersection.

The device failed to detonate and he was arrested shortly after boarding a flight to the Middle East.

Did you witness what happened in Times Square? If it is safe to do so let us know about your experiences. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: </s> Updated at 6:45 a.m. ET

A driver crashed a vehicle into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament in London during the Tuesday morning commute, injuring three people, police and medical personnel say.

Police officers arrested the driver on "suspicion of terrorist offenses," the Metropolitan Police says. The agency describes the suspect as a 29-year-old man who is a U.K. national. He was at the wheel of a silver Ford Fiesta when it crashed through a stream of cyclists and pedestrians and hit a metal barrier that stopped the Fiesta and left its hood crumpled.

"He is not currently co-operating," Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said of attempts to determine a possible motive.

Images from outside the Palace of Westminster that were posted to social media showed the driver in handcuffs. Near the scene of the crash, cyclists stood or sat near their bikes as medical personnel worked in the background.

The London Ambulance Service says two people were treated at the scene and taken to the hospital and that a third person with minor injuries "was assessed at the scene." Roughly 12 hours after the incident, the police said the two patients, a man and a woman, had been discharged from the hospital.

The car that was used in the apparent attack is privately owned and had been in Birmingham Monday night, the Metropolitan Police said in an update on their investigation Tuesday afternoon. The police said detectives were carrying out searches at three addresses — two locations in Birmingham and one in Nottingham.

The crash occurred just before 7:40 a.m. local time. In a rooftop video released by the BBC, the car can be seen suddenly veering across a small pedestrian plaza before racing down a side street and sidewalk — where police officers leaped out of the way before the car slammed into a security barrier.

Armed officers arrested the driver, who was alone and unarmed in the car. The crash drew a large response from police and ambulances.

NPR's Frank Langfitt, reporting from London, says two of the injured are cyclists who were struck by the car.

Jason Williams, a witness quoted by Reuters, said the car hit a barrier hard on a lane used for access to the Parliament building. Williams said it appeared deliberate.

"It's a very serious incident," he told reporters, according to the news agency. "There was smoke coming from the vehicle."

The police said there's no cause to believe people in London are under a continuing threat — but the department has also deployed "Project Servator officers" in Westminster. Those officers, the Metropolitan Police says, "have specialist skills to recognize when a person is displaying minute signs of anxiety... to identify anyone who may be in the area for terrorist or other criminal purposes."

The U.K. Parliament, which is in recess until September, released a statement saying, "Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this incident."

London has experienced three vehicle terrorism attacks since last year.

In March 2017, a radical Islamist drove across Westminster Bridge, hitting pedestrians before crashing outside Parliament.

This is a developing story. Some things reported by the media will later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from police officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene. We will update as the situation develops. </s> A terror suspect arrested after a car crashed into a barrier at the Houses of Parliament at high speed is not believed to be known to the security services, police have said.

At least three people were injured when the silver Ford Fiesta hit a group of cyclists and pedestrians waiting for traffic lights to change. Rooftop camera footage shows the car mounting a pavement on the wrong side of the road before, witnesses said, it travelled at up to 50mph for around 40 metres (130ft) and hit a bollard.

Scotland Yard said a man in his late 20s was arrested after the incident at around 7.30am on Tuesday. The suspect was taken to a south London police station, where he remains on suspicion of terrorism offences. He is not co-operating with officers.

Meanwhile, as Theresa May warned of the "severe" threat facing Britain, new figures showed a sharp rise in terrorism investigations, with the number of live cases of suspected plots rising from more than 500 in March to 676 by the end of June.

The Met's counter-terrorism command is leading the investigation into the latest attack. Officers are seeking to formally identify the suspect, but "don't believe this person is known to either MI5 or counter-terrorism police".

The suspect is reported to be from the Midlands and it is believed that he might have travelled to London from Birmingham.
The London Metropolitan Police Service releases video footage of police cars being driven into suspected criminals on scooters. They say the tactic isn't new.