UK motorcycle theft report NOVEMBER: 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

After a map well covered with green last month, we’ve seen more red creeping back in this time thanks to Powered Two Wheeler (PTW) theft rates increasing by 261 compared to September, but there are still some great reductions in many regions.

Worst hit are Fife and Dyfed & Powys with 300% increases, but it’s important to keep in perspective that this map shows where crime is increasing, to help make you aware of the potential of criminal gangs having moved operations into your area. While 300% is high, Fife went from zero to three thefts (technically an infinite increase), and Dyfed & Powys went from one in September, to four in October.

South Wales Police saw a significant rise of 212.5% (25 thefts up from eight), and Sussex went from 25 to 55 (164%). Avon and Somerset’s numbers are concerning too, rising 61.33% from 75 to 121.

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The highest PTW theft rate remains in the Metropolitan Police area with 479 scooters and motorcycles stolen, but that’s a drop of 2.44% and continues a downward trend following the force’s 20.54% reduction last month in this highly-populated region with a huge number of scooters. It’s great to see that West Midlands Police have continued to push thefts down too.

City of London dropped from one to zero thefts this month, putting it at the top of the table, but it’s North Yorkshire that stands out with a drop of 72.22% from 18 thefts to five. Lincolnshire is close behind, halving its PTW thefts from 16 to eight.

Invest in the best security you can for you motorcycle or scooter, use it, then get on with enjoying your ride. You can find our independent reviews of the best locks, chains, ground anchors, disc locks and more here.

Total PTW thefts October 2025: 1857 (Up 261 from September)

Top story: Four arrests after motorbike theft

Kent Police: Four men have been arrested after eagle-eyed officers spotted a motorbike theft in progress in Dartford.

At about 11.15pm on Tuesday 4 November, patrols in University Way observed a Land Rover Discovery with its boot open speeding past them. Officers pursued the vehicle and discovered a motorbike lying on its side at the roadside. To ensure public safety, a lane of the carriageway was temporarily closed while the bike was recovered.

Officers made enquiries at a nearby business, where staff confirmed the motorbike had been stolen and provided details of the suspect vehicle. These details were shared with other patrols.

In the early hours of Wednesday 5 November, the vehicle was located in West Kingsdown. Officers attempted to stop it, but the vehicle failed to stop. Following a pursuit, it was brought to a halt in Dartford Road, Farningham. It was found to be on false plates.

Four men, aged 20, 21, 22 and 20, were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. Three men have since been bailed and a 20 year old man remains in custody.

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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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