Murders and shootings continued to trend downward in the first quarter of 2016—21% and 14% drops respectively—leaving plenty of time at Monday's crime statistics press conference to discuss a public nuisance that NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton has very strong feelings about: groups of ATV and dirt bike riders who speed en masse on city streets, pop wheelies, and run red lights when the weather starts to warm up.

This year, the NYPD confirmed that it is planning to round up as many bikes and ATVs as possible, and crush them in front of the media. "We have significant resources out looking to get these characters, these knuckleheads if you will," Bratton told reporters on Monday. "We intend to take all of these things [bikes] and just crush them."

Later Bratton referred to the riders as "clowns" and "nitwits" reiterating that, "They're not going to be too happy when we take those damn [bikes] and crush them."

The Commissioner added that the crushing tactic is inspired by the approach he used to curb drag racing in Los Angeles in the early 2000s. "It killed [those drivers] to see their cars out there in the desert," he said. "We'd lift them up with a crane 100 feet off the ground and drop them."

ATVs and dirt bikes are illegal within NYC limits, and the NYPD has been known to crack down on them in the past. A dirt bike rider died while popping a wheelie in East Harlem in 2014, and many civilians have expressed concern about the safety risks, especially for pedestrians. The NY Times reported on the crackdown in 2013, attributing it in part to a fight that fall between motorcycle riders and an SUV driver on the Henry Hudson Parkway that resulted in ten gang assault convictions.

NYPD Housing Chief Carlos Gomez said on Monday that 312 dirt bikes and ATVs have already been seized this year to date, more than double the number of similar arrests last year.

The NYPD has a policy against chasing caravans of riders on city streets (in October 2013, one chase ended with a police officer shooting an ATV driver; in 2013, officers fatally struck a man on a dirt bike during a chase). Instead, Gomez said, the goal this year is to pounce. "We like to apprehend them as they are gassing up in the gas stations or as they are gathering in parks or deserted streets," he said. "We'll descend on the streets and apprehend as best we can." Once a biker is arrested, the NYPD questions him or her about where bikes are stored, and follows up with a Department of Buildings and FDNY inspection. If the City finds gasoline stored illegally in a commercial or residential garage, there's grounds for a bust.

Gomez also urged civilians to call 911 when they see riders, and report any garages where the bikes are stored. The NYPD apparently looks for ride events on Facebook, and even has a dedicated hashtag, #useitandloseit, that they think will deter riders on social media.

Asked on Monday if he'd consider reserving space in City parks for dirt bike and ATV riders, Bratton was adamant. "Let them go out to Long Island and ride them," he said.