Why police are now sending some confiscated electric bikes to the crusher

Electric bikes and scooters are usually framed as a cleaner, quieter solution to urban mobility. But in parts of Australia, police are now taking a far harsher stance on certain e-rideables – including seizing them and sending them straight to the crusher.

In Western Australia, a recent enforcement effort known as Operation Moorhead has resulted in dozens of electric scooters and off-road electric bikes being confiscated and destroyed, according to a local ABC affiliate. The police shared footage of an excavator fitted with a grapple attachment crushing the micromobility devices and loading them into a large steel dumpster.

The crackdown took place in a suburb of Perth after mounting community complaints about “dangerous and antisocial” riding behavior. According to WA Police, the operation began on January 5 and focused on riders allegedly using high-powered electric bikes and scooters illegally on public roads.

Unlike legal electric bicycles, many of these are e-bikes with illegally powerful motors. Some aren’t traditional “e-bikes” at all, lacking pedals and thus more closely resembling light electric motorcycles.

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Police say the behavior went well beyond casual rule-breaking. Many of the riders, most of them under 18, were allegedly riding recklessly, throwing objects at pedestrians and vehicles, and uploading videos of the stunts to social media. In total, officers seized 36 micromobility devices and charged 25 juveniles aged between 11 and 16, along with four adults, with a range of traffic-related offenses. No injuries were reported, but police say that outcome was more luck than design.

Joondalup police Acting Inspector Scott Gillis described the footage officers reviewed as “disturbing,” highlighting one case involving a 12-year-old riding an electric bike capable of reaching 80 km/h (50 mph). Gillis emphasized that devices of that speed and power have no place in the hands of children, especially when used on public roads. Police warned that unsafe riding can have serious consequences and urged parents to understand the legal limits of the devices they are buying for their kids.

Operation Moorhead may have been localized, but the message is designed to carry much further. WA Police confirmed that officers across Western Australia are now actively targeting unlawful micromobility use. That includes high-powered electric dirt bikes and scooters that fall outside legal definitions for bicycles or personal mobility devices. Unlike normal traffic citations for riders of legal devices that operate them outside the confines of the law, illegal devices are now being confiscated and, in some cases, crushed.

The enforcement push comes as Western Australia prepares to ban children under 16 from riding or even storing electric micromobility devices at public schools starting this year. Police say they are working with schools to educate families ahead of the 2026 school year, noting that some parents appear genuinely unaware of how their children are using these machines.

While this case of sending bikes to the crusher is an extreme step, police departments all over the world have spent years grappling with how to deal with cases of illegal and over-powered micromobility devices.

The warning from police has been blunt. If illegal e-rideables are found being used in the community, officers say they will seize them – and they will be destroyed. As electric bikes continue to grow in popularity worldwide, this case shows how quickly public perception can turn when powerful machines that exceed legal limits and social media collide.