A HOME OFFICE report into vehicle security and crime has found that motorcycle theft in London rose by a staggering 44% in 2014, compared with figures from 2012.

Some of the data used in the report comes from London’s Metropolitan police and shows that 2,900 additional bikes were stolen in 2014 compared to 2012.

The figures mirror findings by the Retail Motor Industry Federation’s analysis of data from the police national computer, which indicates that bike theft in England and Wales rose during 2014.

The reasons for the findings are unclear. The report notes that the rise in motorcycle thefts isn’t a reflection of more bikes on the road because numbers have been largely flat since the 2008 recession.

Two suggestions are that with cars gaining increasingly sophisticated security features, thieves are being deterred from stealing them, so are targeting bikes instead.

Media reports also propose a link between stolen motorcycles and other crimes, and that stolen bikes are being used to commit other crimes. If true, it likely means that motorcycles are being stolen specifically for the purpose of committing crime.

Met police data shows that there were 1,240 recorded crimes in London involving suspects on mopeds or motorbikes during the 12 months leading up to February 2015.

Data used in the report indicates that due to a drop in car thefts, motorbike thefts now make up a larger portion of overall vehicle thefts – grouping together figures since 2010 puts it at 40%.

There were 75,000 recorded vehicle thefts in England and Wales in 2014, although the figure is likely higher since that number does not include vehicles taken in burglaries, which are recorded as burglaries, not as thefts of vehicles in police figures.