I agree with you totally but it won't be long before the family or families of those injured in this practice take their case to the IPCC as the Hicks family did.
Prior to the police taking this action, they were involved in chasing a young man, Henry Hicks, who was riding without a crash helmet and who died when he crashed. The case went to the IPCC and resulted in their requesting disciplinary action to be taken against the officers involved. The Met...
The attacks were getting more and more violent so the police's action is certainly a deterrent. The scooter often does not belong to the rider but has been nicked from someone.