Guidance

Tackling E-Scooter and E-Bike enabled crime: Market Exploration Document

Published 28 September 2021

1. Background

When lawfully used, E-Scooters and E-Bikes have many positive benefits. However, currently UK Policing is experiencing an increase in the use of E-Scooters and E-Bikes to enable crime.

E-Bikes and E-Scooters can reach excessive speeds and the rider may not be wearing protective equipment (e.g. a helmet). The small wheels of E-Scooters and high centre of gravity of the rider make the rider vulnerable to injury in the event of a loss of control.

This has led to an operational need for police to be able to bring these vehicles to a controlled stop in a manner which does not pose a significant risk to the rider, the public or police officers. Therefore, there is a significant desire to augment or replace solutions to this problem.

2. What we want

To identify new and innovative concepts / designs that could enhance police ability to prevent and stop E-Scooters and E-Bikes from being used for crime.

The key requirements are that any system / technology should:

• render a stationary E-Scooter or E-Bike incapable of moving off.

• bring a moving E-Scooter or E-Bike to a controlled stop.

• be capable of being successfully deployed in many different locations against E-Scooters or E-Bikes whilst they are moving or stationary, i.e. the system/technology should be readily portable.

• be target specific, i.e. does not affect persons or technology around the suspect vehicle.

• be reliable in use and consistent when activated.

We would like to focus on emerging and current technologies/systems that are judged to have potential to provide the effects required by the police. This may include technology that has not been deployed operationally before or could include a combination of different technologies/mechanisms/techniques to provide the desired effect.

We will consider solutions which would allow E-Scooters, E-Bikes or suspects using them to commit crime, to be electronically located post event, thus reducing the need for a vehicle pursuit.

We are interested in innovative capabilities and ideas for stopping or preventing E-Scooter and E-Bike crime at any maturity level. Submissions should be provided by teams with the experience and knowledge necessary to establish sound scientific evidence for any potential technology and associated hardware.

Submissions are invited which address E-Scooters and E-Bikes together or individually.

Your submission will also help us identify your interests in this area, and, where appropriate, we can introduce you to your regional DASA Innovation Partner to discuss any future activity.

This is a problem that has ministerial interest. Your submission may be exposed to law enforcement stakeholders at a roundtable discussion convened to consider the submitted ideas. Potentially successful technologies and concepts may be exploited within any future acquisition programmes.

3. What we don’t want

We do not want solutions to prevent the loss/theft of E-Scooters/E-Bikes.

We do not want literature reviews, paper-based studies, consultancy, non-technical solutions or marginal improvements to existing capabilities.

This is not a competition, and therefore we are not asking for costed proposals at this stage. This is a market exploration request for information only and we do not commit to subsequently launch a formal DASA competition.

4. How to submit a Market Exploration Submission to DASA

Responses to this Market Exploration must be submitted via the DASA submission service, for which you will need to register. We recommend you use a Google Chrome browser to access the DASA submission service.

You will be asked for a title and short summary of your innovation, along with questions related to your organisation, your idea and technology maturity. We are seeking to understand what and how much further development is required for a complete solution to meet requirements, or whether a combination of separate solutions is required. The information you provide will assist in developing a statement of requirements for potential future activities.

Submissions must be submitted by midday on 9 November 2021. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept any submissions after this point.

Please only provide details of one product/capability per submission. If you have a number of potential solutions, then please submit multiple forms.

If you have questions, please email accelerator@dstl.gov.uk with “Tackling e-scooter and e-bike enabled crime” in the subject line.

5. How we use your information

Information you provide to us in a Market Exploration Submission, that is not already available to us from other sources, will be handled in-confidence. By submitting a Market Exploration Submission you are giving us permission to keep and use the information for our internal purposes, and to provide the information onwards, in-confidence, within UK Government. The Defence and Security Accelerator will not use or disclose the information for any other purpose, without first requesting permission to do so.