Police auctions of seized e-bikes let crime-linked vehicles back on the street, BBC investigation finds

Electric bikes and e-motorbikes confiscated by police forces across the UK are routinely being put back into circulation through online auction sites, despite concerns they could once again be used by criminals, a BBC investigation has found.

The vehicles are confiscated in large numbers every year because they are suspected of being ridden illegally or of being used in other crimes. Police policy has traditionally been to destroy them, but the BBC found evidence that a significant minority are instead sold to members of the public, with several listings explicitly advertising goods as "sold at the direction of police".

Figures obtained by the BBC through Freedom of Information requests show UK police forces sold 161 e-bikes and e-motorcycles last year, and 54 in 2024. The true totals are likely to be higher, because not every force replied to the request. Six forces confirmed that some of the vehicles they had seized had been sold, among them two of the country's larger organisations, West Midlands Police and Police Scotland.

The category covers two quite different kinds of machine. Electrically-assisted pedal cycles look much like ordinary bicycles, with a small motor that activates as the rider pedals. Electric motorbikes, by contrast, are usually far more powerful and are propelled by their motor alone. Both types have become the focus of intense public debate, with critics linking them to crime and anti-social behaviour on streets and footpaths.

Recent BBC reporting has documented clusters of incidents in which groups of balaclava-clad young men have been seen riding modified e-bikes illegally on footpaths and intimidating residents. The vehicles have also been linked to a number of pedestrian deaths, including 86-year-old grandmother Gloria Stephenson, who was struck at a zebra crossing in Sunderland last year by an illegal e-motorbike.

Some forces have now abandoned the practice entirely, while others defend it as a way of returning "money back into policing". Among the most prolific sellers is Police Scotland, which covers the whole of Scotland and sold 93 e-bikes last year — more than any other force. The force said it sends seized e-bikes to an accredited recycler, who may then choose to auction them, with the proceeds going back to the organisation.

West Yorkshire Police sold two e-bikes at auction last year. The force said the money raised is divided between the force and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, with some cash going to what it described as "local good causes". It stressed that all of the bikes sold were "legally compliant".

West Midlands Police, which sold 12 e-bikes last year, said the "vast majority" of seized bikes are destroyed, with only a "small number" sold through an independent auction company "so that the money can be put back into policing".

The picture is not limited to two-wheelers. The BBC also found forces selling e-scooters, a category that is illegal to use on public property if privately owned, although simply owning one is not an offence. Durham Constabulary sold three e-scooters last year, and West Mercia Police sold one. Both forces have since reviewed their policy and confirmed they will no longer sell either e-bikes or e-scooters.

Durham, which sold 29 e-bikes last year, has gone further, telling the BBC that bikes will now be "crushed without exception". Greater Manchester Police sold a single e-bike last year.

The sales are generally handled through commercial auction platforms, with several forces using the company Raw2k. The site regularly advertises e-bikes as sold at the direction of police. Among the items the BBC identified was a Chinese-manufactured electric dirt bike which the listing said had been auctioned from Falkirk earlier in the month, with an opening price of £250 — a fraction of the £3,295 retail price quoted for a new model.

Clive Grunshaw, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, is among the strongest voices for ending the practice. He said it sends "a confused message" that there is "nowhere apart from a back garden that these scooters can be legally used", and urged police forces to stop selling them.

He argues e-bikes have become the "transport of choice for drug gangs" precisely because they are "so difficult to catch". Grunshaw suspects some offenders whose bikes are seized simply repurchase them at auction, and he is concerned that criminals are instead buying legally compliant machines from police and then fitting illegal modifications.

That last risk is being amplified by an online modification trade. Legal electric pedal cycles are limited to 15.5mph under motor power, but "tuning kits" advertised online — often sourced from eastern Europe — can allow some machines to reach speeds of around 40mph, putting riders far outside the law while retaining the appearance of a compliant bike.

Taken together, the figures and responses suggest a patchwork rather than a settled national policy. Some forces destroy everything they seize, some have recently reversed course, and others continue to raise funds by selling the machines publicly — a practice that critics argue undermines both enforcement efforts and public confidence in the policing of illegal e-bike use.