Concerned about the increasing use of high-performance motorcycles in several brazen murders, including the killings of at least two police officers, Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of crime fighting, Mark Shields, wants cops to get tough on riders who break any aspect of the law.

“These big bikes are being used to kill police officers,” he told the Sunday Observer. Shields wants more attention paid to the powerful, easily-manoeuvred machines that some criminals see as the perfect mode of transportation to escape from a crime scene.

Convinced that many of these bikes are stolen overseas and then shipped here, the former Scotland Yard man wants to know how these machines enter the country, if their cylinder chambers (CC rating) meet the legal requirements, and whether their riders wear helmets, as required by law.

“Many of them are stolen abroad and brought in, and they completely flout the law as it relates to crash helmets,” he said. “Every aspect of motorcycle riding is being considered. We have to review how these bikes are policed.”

Big bikes have become the vehicle of choice for some assassins, including the two men who dismounted from a black Honda CBR F4 motorbike and sprayed Corporal Hewitt Chandler with bullets two weeks ago.

The two men were themselves shot to death along Waterloo Road, in Kingston, by other officers who came to Chandler’s assistance.

The licence plate on the bike used by Chandler’s assassins was tampered with – masking tape was used to cover the letters and one of the digits, police say. The exposed numbers on the plate read 811, the telephone number for Operation Kingfish, the police team that targets dons and drug runners.

Shields’ strategy, it appears, is to take advantage of any breach committed by those who ride these big bikes with the hope that an arrest for, say, not wearing a helmet, may prevent another killing or lead to a break in past murders.

Last February, Senior Superintendent Lloyd McDonald was shot dead across the street from where Chandler met his end. Police say McDonald was shot by the pillion rider on a powerful motorbike. The killers took the cop’s weapon before they sped off.

Police say ballistic tests done on a Glock pistol taken from one of Chandler’s killers proved that it was used to kill McDonald; and a Browning pistol which was taken from the second man was McDonald’s service firearm.

But cops have not been the only ones cut down by killers who rely on motorcycles to get around.

Last month, a pillion rider dismounted from a motorbike and shot murder witness Linval Thompson in the back of his head as he sat in the back of a route taxi on Kingston’s busy Hope Road in rush hour traffic. Thompson, who was sitting between two women at the time of the incident, died in the car.

Popular dancehall figure Gerald “Bogle” Levy was also the victim of gunmen travelling on a high-performance motorbike. The dancer was struck down as he purchased gas at a service station in the capital city on January 20.

The Honda CBR F4, the model used by Chandler’s killers, is popular with big-bike enthusiasts and is sold for $560,000. Another bike which is rising in popularity is the Honda CBR 600 RR. These have a $780,000 price tag.

Under Jamaican law, motorbikes must have a cubic centimetre (CC) rating of under 600. The CC rating indicates the size of the bike’s cylinder chamber. Both the CBR F4 and the CBR 600 RR carry a CC rating of 599, just a shade within the legal limit.

These big bikes and others like them can reach speeds of up to 190 kilometres an hour. The Honda CBR 600 RR can go from zero to 60 kilometres in just under three seconds. Their lightning speed can also pose a challenge for cops manning check points on the streets.

Like Shields, Superintendent Assan Thompson, the head of the St Andrew North police division where high-performance motorbikes were used in at least three murders, is also concerned about big bikes. For him, the biggest problem is the pillion riders and he wants them banned.

Speaking during a question-and-answer session at a recent Police Officers Association’s annual general meeting, Thompson urged National Security Minister Peter Phillips to take the issue to parliament.

“If we could remove pillion riders from those high-powered motorbikes, it would greatly lessen the risk,” Thompson told the Sunday Observer. “It is harder for a man to manoeuvre a bike and do the shooting himself, but the pillion is the one who has free hands.”

There is no law on the books which bans operators of motorbikes from carrying a passenger, as long as both persons are wearing a helmet.

“There needs to be effective laws to help us deal with the criminals,” Thompson said.