In the wretched hives of scum and villainy that are the UK's large towns and cities, petty crooks are increasingly upgrading to the nimble vehicles to better snatch phones or other belongings from the hands of oblivious innocents.
It's legal to ride an e-bike without a license in the UK if it's pedal assisted, has a maximum power output of 250 watts, and is capped at 15.5 mph (25 kph). It's this very silence and speed that makes them the getaway of choice for robberies. The problem is now so prevalent that London's Metropolitan Police has issued guidance on how to avoid becoming a victim.
Likewise, e-scooters have been involved in 20,000 crimes over the past three years. Unlike e-bikes, though, privately owned vehicles are illegal to ride on public highways and byways – a fact seemingly lost on the parents who zip their kids to school on them. Nevertheless, there are some 750,000 in sheds and garages around the UK.
So how does the plod intend to combat this growing menace? We find it hard to imagine that even London's finest could reach and maintain sprinting speeds in excess of 15.5 mph.
According to The Guardian, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) is working with the government's Defence Science and Technology Lab (Dstl) to develop a weapon of sorts that would disable the vehicles with electromagnetic pulses.
To deploy another hackneyed '80s movie reference, the device is being likened to the backpacks worn by the Ghostbusters.
NPCC chair Gavin Stephens told media: "Basically, it interferes with the electric motor, to trick the electric motor into thinking it is overheating. It sends a signal to confuse the electric motor. All these electric motors apparently have an inbuilt safety system that if it thinks it's overheating, it shuts down. At the minute, it's like a ginormous backpack."
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