SBD support Met’s Operation Venice team deliver security messages at top show

The Met’s Operation Venice team, who tackle scooter, moped and motorcycle crime, had a stand at the MCN Carole Nash Motorcycle Show at the ExCel Exhibition Centre, from Friday to Sunday, where they engaged with members of the public and vehicle owners who visited their stand to talk about how they can better protect their vehicles and what the Met is doing to tackle scooter, moped and motorcycle enabled crime.

Secured by Design (SBD), the national police crime prevention initiative, supported Metropolitan Police officers over the weekend, with advice on both crime prevention and on security products which have achieved the SBD Police Preferred Specification.

Visitors to the Met’s stand had the opportunity to win security products to protect their scooters, mopeds and motorcycles with SBD member companies Trimetals donating a Protect a Bike 960 secure storage unit, Biketrac donating a tracker and one year’s subscription, Pragmasis – Securityforbikes.com donating a 1.5m long Protector 16mm security chain with a Roundlock and Henry Squire and Sons Limited donating an Eiger Sold Secure Motorcycle Gold Brake Disc Lock as prizes.

Visitors to the Met stand were also able to see how the Met are tackling moped crime, with the assistance of Secured by Design member company SelectaDNA.

SBD member companies BikeTrac & Datatool, a brand of Scorpion Automotive Limited, were also at the show advising around the tracking and security of  motorcycles, as were Premier SSL who are again sponsoring Rob Guiver, the current Ducati TriOptions motorcycle champion. This season’s bike was unveiled at the show on the Friday, emblazoned with Premier’s livery and that of SBD.

Whilst the police are continually tackling this crime there is much the owners of mopeds and motorcycles can do themselves and the Met advises the following steps:

- Parking: Choose designated parking with a stand and security loop, or if this is not available try areas with lots of people, good lighting and CCTV.

- Locks: Use more than one lock, focusing on disc locks and chain locks, fitted tight to the bike and through difficult-to-remove parts.

- Time: When leaving your bike for a long period or overnight, lock it to something secure and use a motorbike cover. At home consider using fitted anchors to secure your bike.

- Attention: Use audible alarms where possible to draw unwanted attention to the thieves.

- Marking: Choose to mark your bike parts with the vehicle identification number (VIN) number, your postcode or registration number using an ultraviolet marker pen or property marking kit.

- Insurance: Some companies will offer discounts on your insurance if you invest in certain security measures, so ask before you make your purchase.

Secured by Design (SBD) is a police-owned organisation that works on behalf of the Police Service throughout the UK to deliver a wide range of crime prevention and demand reduction initiatives.

SBD work closely with standards and certification bodies to ensure that their publicly available standards actually meet the needs of the police and public alike.

Products must be subjected to vigorous testing and auditing by an accredited third party organisation before being allowed to carry the SBD logo – this is the only way for companies to obtain police accreditation for security related products in the UK.

Find out more about protecting your moped: https://www.met.police.uk/scootersecurity