Police officers could be equipped with devices likened to the proton packs used in Ghostbusters to stop e-bikes and e-scooters being used for crime.

Gavin Stephens, the chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), said he hopes the “experimental” technology could help stop the vehicles involved in offences such as street robberies and mobile phone thefts.

Described as a “ginormous backpack”, the gadget has drawn comparisons with the capture device used in the Ghostbusters films.

It works by firing an electromagnetic pulse at an e-bike or e-scooter in the line of sight, sending a signal to confuse the electric motor into thinking it’s overheating.

The motor, which has an in-built safety system, then shuts down, bringing the vehicle to a halt.

The device was demonstrated to police at a science and technology fair in Farnborough, Hampshire, earlier this year but is unlikely to be available for use for months or even years.

Read more from Sky News:
Obesity drug ‘cuts risk of heart attack or stroke’
Would you try this environmentally friendly wonder food?

Mr Stephens said he has been told the device “has the potential to be useful with normal combustion engine vehicles as well”.

Paul Taylor, the NPCC’s chief scientific adviser, is overseeing the project with industry figures to make the kit available for use by police officers.

Mr Stephens said the popularity of the vehicles has changed the nature of police pursuits, with “lightning-fast electric bikes around town and city centres” making them “really difficult”.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

He said the devices are “the sort of new tech that we need”, adding: “It basically interferes with the electric motor to trick the electric motor to think it’s overheating and that goes through a safe shutdown procedure.”

“At the minute it’s like a great, big ginormous backpack-type thing, because it’s basically a battle of how much power they can get.”

Related posts:

Science teacher and data engineer win multimillion dollar tickets on space flight Zoom reaches $85m settlement in privacy and ‘zoombombing’ lawsuit Why are companies, and even Joe Biden, posting one-word tweets? UK at risk of ‘brain drain’ as scientists leave Britain to avoid losing EU research funding 362,000 Teslas recalled in US over fears full self-driving software may cause crashes Women with persistent acne offered hope by cheap drug Montana becomes first US state to ban TikTok on personal devices Casinos warned to be on ‘high alert’ as £11bn firm remains crippled after major cyberattack Scientists create chickens resistant to bird flu infection Bottled water contains thousands of invisible pieces of nanoplastics on average, study finds Peregrine spacecraft has ‘no chance’ of landing on moon, company says Rare giant explosions on sun’s surface could help NASA find out what we need to live on Mars