The year-long police operation targeted dirt bike and illegal street racing. Photo / supplied
The year-long police operation targeted dirt bike and illegal street racing. Photo / supplied
More than 130 people have been arrested or charged and almost 100 vehicles and bikes impounded, following a year-long police operation targeting dirt bike and illegal street racing.
Operation Whakatika was launched by the Counties Manukau police department at the beginning of 2021 to investigate offending on the roads by dirt bike riders and illegal street racers.
Counties Manukau district prevention manager, Inspector Jared Pirret, today announced the results of the year-long investigation.
"We know that our community get frustrated at the dangerous and often brazen antics by dirt bike riders and street racers," Pirret said.
"Often when police are notified at the time to these types of reports, we are not in a position to immediately intervene as it creates significant safety risks for those involved as well as other innocent road users."
The operation resulted in 59 dirt bikes and 39 vehicles being impounded. Photo / Supplied
As a result of 12 months of work targeting the offenders, 59 dirt bikes have been impounded and 39 vehicles have been impounded.
There have been 88 people arrested or charged in relation to dirt bike activity, with 44 arrests or charges laid in connection to illegal street racing activity for offences such as dangerous driving and sustained loss of traction.
Another 169 infringement notices have also been issued for dirt bike activity and 579 infringements were issued by the unit for illegal street racing.
Almost 2500 vehicles were stopped and inspected over the year as part of the operation.
"While we may not be able to take immediate action at the time for safety reasons, we want to reassure the community that we do take this offending seriously and we have a team working hard to identify and locate offenders and impound their bikes or vehicles," Pirret said.
"Our results speak for themselves, and we want this to be a message to dirt bike riders and illegal street racers causing issues on our roads – we will keep investigating those involved, impounding your vehicles and bikes and issuing fines or prosecuting you."
Police also recovered 25 stolen vehicles in the operation.
Three riders had their licences suspended and 53 riders were forbidden from riding.
In relation to illegal street racing activity, 23 vehicles were pink-stickered and ordered off the road as they were deemed unsafe, while 79 vehicles were green-stickered and deemed non-compliant.
"While we are very pleased with the results to date, we continue to receive complaints in relation to dirt bike riders and street racers and we will continue to investigate offending on our roads, impound vehicles and prosecute where necessary," Pirret said.
