POLICE tasked with tackling illegal off-road bikers said to be taking advantage of open countryside in on-the-border communities will provide daily coverage in the worst-hit areas, the Chronicle can reveal.
As it stands the town is the only area of South Yorkshire which does not have its own pool of police bikes and instead relies on Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield to loan their fleet to trained-up Barnsley officers.
While high-visibility operations will continue on a monthly basis in areas such as Royston and Brierley, officers from West Yorkshire who have been working alongside teams in Barnsley have announced their fleet is expanding from two bikes to six in order to tackle continuing reports this year.
The investment, which means the team will prowl countryside including roads and woodlands where the two forces’ lines merge will see officers patrol seven days a week as part of a more concentrated effort to eradicate the problem.
It comes following last year’s successful Operation Matrix, which targeted vulnerable areas including Brierley, where 96 illegal bikes were seized and 43 people were reported for summons.
Chief Inspector Martin Moizer said: “Officers had their most successful year ever in terms of prosecutions in 2018 and the expanded capability they now have provides them with a brilliant platform to go even further this year.
“When they are out and about they are regularly approached by residents who generally seem to be fed up with bikes and quads.
“All this has obviously been a great help in locating and seizing vehicles and we continue to urge residents to keep getting in touch.”
Two other weapons, including a Barnsley Council-owned drone and a chemical signature spray called SmartWater which has successfully been used to ‘tag’ riders in the past, are also being used.
Sgt Dave Baines said local residents’ information could also be key in providing officers with intelligence as to where bikes are being used or stored.
“We’ll go and take the bike off them it really is as simple as that,” he added. “If the supposed owner can’t provide proof that they’ve purchased the quad or motorbike, we’ll crush it.
“It remains a top priority for every neighbourhood policing hub in Barnsley as it’s an issue that’s brought up across the borough, so information as to where it’s happening and where the bikes are kept is crucial.
“This information can be passed on anonymously but a photo of the offender or a description of the bike they’re using can lead to us issuing a notice against them.”
