VOA:Britain Calm Wednesday After 4 Straight Nights of Violence
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011 at 11:40 pm UTC
Britain had its first calm night Wednesday after four straight nights of riots that left parts of some British cities, including London, looking like war zones.
Police and witnesses report just minor incidents as thousands of riot police fill the streets of London, Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham. British Prime Minister David Cameron has authorized police to use water cannons, which were used in Northern Ireland, but never in mainland Britain. He says a “fightback” is under way to restore law and order.
Mr. Cameron said Britain will not let a “culture of fear” take control of the country, saying police will be given anything they need to put down the violence. The prime minster has called Parliament away from its summer vacation for a special session Thursday.
Hundreds of youths — many saying they are sick of unemployment and cuts in government help — burned buildings and cars, looted stores, smashed windows, and attacked police. The violence was touched off by the police shooting death last week of a 29-year-old man in London's economically depressed Tottenham neighborhood.
Police have arrested more than 1,100 people since Saturday. The youngest suspect is 11 years old. Many of the riot victims are small business owners who say they have taken up weapons to protect their property.
Birmingham police opened a murder investigation Wednesday when three men were run over by a car and killed apparently while trying to protect their neighborhood from looters. Police have a suspect in custody.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
"Britons use social networking sites to expose rioters"
Britons use social networking sites to expose rioters
(AFP) – August 10
LONDON — Britons took to social networking sites on Wednesday to expose the rioters who went on the rampage for four nights, posting photos of masked gangs looting and hurling missiles.
Much of the violence, which started in London but has since spread to other parts of the country, was captured on mobile phone cameras, video recorders or CCTV, and the images quickly found their way into cyberspace.
London's Metropolitan Police made a tentative attempt to use social media to track down suspects, putting up 25 photos of youths breaking into shops and lobbing missiles on photo-sharing site flickr.
But the official effort paled in comparison to the surge of activity by amateur web investigators.
One such project is a web page called "Catch A Looter", which has been set up on blog-hosting website tumblr and features dozens of photos from the London riots.
Images showed looters walking out of shops with electrical goods, clothes and bottles and close-up shots of rioters hurling missiles.
The anonymous creator of the site urged web surfers to get in touch with Crimestoppers, a charity that allows people to anonymously pass on information about crimes, if they recognised anyone on the site.
But just a day after it was set up, the creator announced the web page would no longer be updated, saying that with the riots spreading across the country "there are loads of photos and I can barely keep up".
"The beauty of social media is you can put these things up quickly, and take them down again too, without any cost," he said.
Another, more controversial, effort was under way to track down rioters, with a Google Group set up called "London Riots Facial Recognition".
Members of the group are reportedly using technology similar to Facebook's photo recognition tools to identify looters whose faces appear on the web.
It was quickly restricted to current members of people invited to join after concerns were raised in the media following discussions by the group's members on the legality of using facial recognition.
As well as using the web to hunt rioters, 'netizens' also launched a very British "anti-riot" on Wednesday with a Twitter and Facebook campaign entitled "OperationCupOfTea".
People were asked to "Stay in and drink tea" and post a photo of their beverage online, instead of going on the rampage. The project was one of the top trending topics on Twitter.
(AFP) – August 10
LONDON — Britons took to social networking sites on Wednesday to expose the rioters who went on the rampage for four nights, posting photos of masked gangs looting and hurling missiles.
Much of the violence, which started in London but has since spread to other parts of the country, was captured on mobile phone cameras, video recorders or CCTV, and the images quickly found their way into cyberspace.
London's Metropolitan Police made a tentative attempt to use social media to track down suspects, putting up 25 photos of youths breaking into shops and lobbing missiles on photo-sharing site flickr.
But the official effort paled in comparison to the surge of activity by amateur web investigators.
One such project is a web page called "Catch A Looter", which has been set up on blog-hosting website tumblr and features dozens of photos from the London riots.
Images showed looters walking out of shops with electrical goods, clothes and bottles and close-up shots of rioters hurling missiles.
The anonymous creator of the site urged web surfers to get in touch with Crimestoppers, a charity that allows people to anonymously pass on information about crimes, if they recognised anyone on the site.
But just a day after it was set up, the creator announced the web page would no longer be updated, saying that with the riots spreading across the country "there are loads of photos and I can barely keep up".
"The beauty of social media is you can put these things up quickly, and take them down again too, without any cost," he said.
Another, more controversial, effort was under way to track down rioters, with a Google Group set up called "London Riots Facial Recognition".
Members of the group are reportedly using technology similar to Facebook's photo recognition tools to identify looters whose faces appear on the web.
It was quickly restricted to current members of people invited to join after concerns were raised in the media following discussions by the group's members on the legality of using facial recognition.
As well as using the web to hunt rioters, 'netizens' also launched a very British "anti-riot" on Wednesday with a Twitter and Facebook campaign entitled "OperationCupOfTea".
People were asked to "Stay in and drink tea" and post a photo of their beverage online, instead of going on the rampage. The project was one of the top trending topics on Twitter.
"London Riots: Who's in Charge Here?" ABC News
"London Riots: Who's in Charge Here?"
By RICHARD ESPOSITO
Aug. 9, 2011
for ABC Nightline (USA)
After three nights and days of rioting and looting London finally is mobilizing a massive police response and a largely mute official London has begun to speak, and reach out in an effort to curb violence.
London Mayor Boris Johnson has publicly stated that 16,000 officers will be deployed tonight, and senior police official say that if more officers are needed there are 19,000 to 20,000 to draw from. According to law enforcement sources, the Metropolitan Police -- popularly known as Scotland Yard -- has called up at least 600 experienced officers from its special operations commands, including its counter-terror unit, to get the maximum number of officers with civil disorder training onto the streets.
When the rioting started, however, following the fatal shooting of an alleged drug dealer Thursday, Britain's ruling class was sitting by the pool. Mayor Johnson was on vacation. Prime Minister David Cameron was on vacation. Home Secretary Theresa May, the senior official in charge of policing, was also "on holiday." Scotland Yard, meanwhile, is currently leaderless following the resignation of senior officials over the cellphone hacking scandal.
PHOTOS of the London riots.
In short, policy experts in Britain tell ABC News, there was no senior political voice or senior police voice to implement an aggressive strategy, much less offer an official response or even give an explanation for the rioting to the public. Scotland Yard did not hold a press briefing until yesterday, on the third day of rioting that started in the North London neighborhood of Tottenham and has now spread to cities far from London.
"The first person who should have come back, Boris Johnson, didn't fly back from Vancouver until yesterday. Prime Minister David Cameron's plane did not touch down until this morning," one analyst told ABC. "Home Secretary Theresa May, the first to return, gave a less than convincing public performance."
Now that official London is back, Boris Johnson and senior police officials have begun engaging the media and the communities most affected. British law enforcement has received permission to investigate BlackBerry Messenger messages and text messages, which have been used by rioters to organize looting.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh, who oversees Territorial Policing at Scotland Yard, said at a press briefing that the force was thinking about the use of plastic bullets but that the Metropolitan Police were "not going to throw 180 years of policing with the community away."
"The use of any tactics will be considered carefully," said Kavanagh. "That does not mean we are scared of using any tactic."
As part of an admittedly belated aggressive response police also have dedicated a website to images of the rioting culled from Closes Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV).
"It would have been wise on reflection if, immediately after the shooting, the police had been a little bit more receptive to community concerns and allowed some forum," noted Blair Gibbs, the head of Crime and Justice at the think tank Policy Project. "The police have to do that kind of direct engagement with people and have them vent their anger."
Police commanders told ABC that at this juncture they expect enough officers to flood the city that, barring some unforeseen violence, they will begin to curb the unrest. "We have seriously considered every tactical option available to us," said Kavanagh. "We will consider every option we have to keep you safe."
As they hit the streets more than 450 officers monitoring CCTV have been augmented by additional personnel to begin pouring over footage of the lawlessness in an effort to identify perpetrators of the violence and looting, sources said.
"I think it has now gone beyond any community concern over any police shooting," said Gibbs. "The widespread nature suggests we are simply into copycat violence by unsocialized men … getting away with lawlessness that they would otherwise not embark on. The scale of the rioting now is not reflecting any widespread poverty. It is criminality on a mass scale."
Sources in London tell ABC that a rumored curfew is highly unlikely to occur as it would cut to the core of the British sense of civil liberties, and the use of any army forces would only be as a last resort. Significantly, since the Ulster disturbances during the Irish "Troubles," the army has not trained any significant number of soldiers in managing civil disorder, and most of the troops who had such training were long ago mustered out.
Page 2 of 2
Aug. 9, 2011
Mark Duggan Shooting
The rioting began after the fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan by police officers attempting an arrest. An arrest team of armed officers was assigned when a police informant warned that Duggan, an alleged drug dealer and gang member whom police believed might have links to two murders, was armed. In fact, a loaded pistol was recovered from Duggan. One published report stated that a bullet possibly fired by Duggan was found lodged in a police radio. An investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission revealed today, however, that when Duggan was killed, he likely had never fired on police.
According to a Met Police press release, numerous police officers have suffered serious injuries in the rioting, as well as five police dogs.
"The serious criminal unrest experienced in London over the past three days has left dozens of officers injured, some seriously, "the statement read. "At the present time (17.30hrs), 111 officers have been reported injured. … Many officers are still undergoing hospital treatment, some requiring surgery. Injuries range from fractured bones, serious head injuries, concussion, cuts and sprains, even injured eyes from smashed and thrown glass.
"Officers have been attacked with bricks, bottles, planks of wood and other missiles. In some incidents, officers have been hit by motor vehicles, seriously risking their lives and those of the public," the statement read.
"Five police dogs have been injured as they have undertaken their duties in dealing with the unrest. Linpol Luke, also known as Obi, sustained a serious head injury from a thrown brick and requires further treatment. Marshfield Mia was injured after being hit by a thrown bottle. Both dogs were injured on duty on Sunday. On Monday, Minstrel Blaze, Quirk Ruby and Zach all sustained injuries, including broken teeth and cuts from thrown missiles."
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Kavanagh deplored the "scenes of devastation and violence" in London, and asked the public for help. "If you are out tonight please help us -- give us the space we need to work in." He asked parents to keep their children inside so they would not get caught up in "thrill-seeking thuggery," and thanked people who had already intervened to "make their disgust known about the activities of these mindless yobs."
Kavanagh also issued a warning to rioters. "If you have been one of those people who believe you are above the law and have the right to rob, damage and scare people let me make it clear our investigation team is determined to come and track you down"
The chaotic scenes of clashes with police, burning buildings, and shuttered shops and rampaging masked young men take place at a time when the approximately 31,000 officer Met police is effectively leaderless.
By RICHARD ESPOSITO
Aug. 9, 2011
for ABC Nightline (USA)
After three nights and days of rioting and looting London finally is mobilizing a massive police response and a largely mute official London has begun to speak, and reach out in an effort to curb violence.
London Mayor Boris Johnson has publicly stated that 16,000 officers will be deployed tonight, and senior police official say that if more officers are needed there are 19,000 to 20,000 to draw from. According to law enforcement sources, the Metropolitan Police -- popularly known as Scotland Yard -- has called up at least 600 experienced officers from its special operations commands, including its counter-terror unit, to get the maximum number of officers with civil disorder training onto the streets.
When the rioting started, however, following the fatal shooting of an alleged drug dealer Thursday, Britain's ruling class was sitting by the pool. Mayor Johnson was on vacation. Prime Minister David Cameron was on vacation. Home Secretary Theresa May, the senior official in charge of policing, was also "on holiday." Scotland Yard, meanwhile, is currently leaderless following the resignation of senior officials over the cellphone hacking scandal.
PHOTOS of the London riots.
In short, policy experts in Britain tell ABC News, there was no senior political voice or senior police voice to implement an aggressive strategy, much less offer an official response or even give an explanation for the rioting to the public. Scotland Yard did not hold a press briefing until yesterday, on the third day of rioting that started in the North London neighborhood of Tottenham and has now spread to cities far from London.
"The first person who should have come back, Boris Johnson, didn't fly back from Vancouver until yesterday. Prime Minister David Cameron's plane did not touch down until this morning," one analyst told ABC. "Home Secretary Theresa May, the first to return, gave a less than convincing public performance."
Now that official London is back, Boris Johnson and senior police officials have begun engaging the media and the communities most affected. British law enforcement has received permission to investigate BlackBerry Messenger messages and text messages, which have been used by rioters to organize looting.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh, who oversees Territorial Policing at Scotland Yard, said at a press briefing that the force was thinking about the use of plastic bullets but that the Metropolitan Police were "not going to throw 180 years of policing with the community away."
"The use of any tactics will be considered carefully," said Kavanagh. "That does not mean we are scared of using any tactic."
As part of an admittedly belated aggressive response police also have dedicated a website to images of the rioting culled from Closes Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV).
"It would have been wise on reflection if, immediately after the shooting, the police had been a little bit more receptive to community concerns and allowed some forum," noted Blair Gibbs, the head of Crime and Justice at the think tank Policy Project. "The police have to do that kind of direct engagement with people and have them vent their anger."
Police commanders told ABC that at this juncture they expect enough officers to flood the city that, barring some unforeseen violence, they will begin to curb the unrest. "We have seriously considered every tactical option available to us," said Kavanagh. "We will consider every option we have to keep you safe."
As they hit the streets more than 450 officers monitoring CCTV have been augmented by additional personnel to begin pouring over footage of the lawlessness in an effort to identify perpetrators of the violence and looting, sources said.
"I think it has now gone beyond any community concern over any police shooting," said Gibbs. "The widespread nature suggests we are simply into copycat violence by unsocialized men … getting away with lawlessness that they would otherwise not embark on. The scale of the rioting now is not reflecting any widespread poverty. It is criminality on a mass scale."
Sources in London tell ABC that a rumored curfew is highly unlikely to occur as it would cut to the core of the British sense of civil liberties, and the use of any army forces would only be as a last resort. Significantly, since the Ulster disturbances during the Irish "Troubles," the army has not trained any significant number of soldiers in managing civil disorder, and most of the troops who had such training were long ago mustered out.
Page 2 of 2
Aug. 9, 2011
Mark Duggan Shooting
The rioting began after the fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan by police officers attempting an arrest. An arrest team of armed officers was assigned when a police informant warned that Duggan, an alleged drug dealer and gang member whom police believed might have links to two murders, was armed. In fact, a loaded pistol was recovered from Duggan. One published report stated that a bullet possibly fired by Duggan was found lodged in a police radio. An investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission revealed today, however, that when Duggan was killed, he likely had never fired on police.
According to a Met Police press release, numerous police officers have suffered serious injuries in the rioting, as well as five police dogs.
"The serious criminal unrest experienced in London over the past three days has left dozens of officers injured, some seriously, "the statement read. "At the present time (17.30hrs), 111 officers have been reported injured. … Many officers are still undergoing hospital treatment, some requiring surgery. Injuries range from fractured bones, serious head injuries, concussion, cuts and sprains, even injured eyes from smashed and thrown glass.
"Officers have been attacked with bricks, bottles, planks of wood and other missiles. In some incidents, officers have been hit by motor vehicles, seriously risking their lives and those of the public," the statement read.
"Five police dogs have been injured as they have undertaken their duties in dealing with the unrest. Linpol Luke, also known as Obi, sustained a serious head injury from a thrown brick and requires further treatment. Marshfield Mia was injured after being hit by a thrown bottle. Both dogs were injured on duty on Sunday. On Monday, Minstrel Blaze, Quirk Ruby and Zach all sustained injuries, including broken teeth and cuts from thrown missiles."
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Kavanagh deplored the "scenes of devastation and violence" in London, and asked the public for help. "If you are out tonight please help us -- give us the space we need to work in." He asked parents to keep their children inside so they would not get caught up in "thrill-seeking thuggery," and thanked people who had already intervened to "make their disgust known about the activities of these mindless yobs."
Kavanagh also issued a warning to rioters. "If you have been one of those people who believe you are above the law and have the right to rob, damage and scare people let me make it clear our investigation team is determined to come and track you down"
The chaotic scenes of clashes with police, burning buildings, and shuttered shops and rampaging masked young men take place at a time when the approximately 31,000 officer Met police is effectively leaderless.
"Where are the guns? A Texan's take on UK Riots"
"Where are the guns? A Texan's take on UK Riots"
By Heather Lacy, NBC News assignment editor
LONDON - We’ve been on five-day roller-coaster here in the NBC News London bureau, what with riots and looting breaking out across the capital and the country.
We’re all wondering if the “criminality pure and simple,” as Prime Minister David Cameron put it, will pop up again, or if the uneasy calm we have now will hold.
Everyone in the newsroom has been discussing the recent violence, the worst this country has seen in three decades. Why would people set fire to stores, cars and homes, looting, wounding, killing and destroying property as they go? Who could do this? How did the police fail to bring order for days?
As everyone in the newsroom debated the use of force – whether to use rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons, Tasers, even bean-bag guns – I wondered why they were wasting their breath.
“If your cops had guns, day number 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this, it would NOT have happened!” I said at a recent meeting.
People stopped talking and looked at me. A couple giggled. Those who know me weren’t too horrified, but others stared at me like I’d just drop-kicked a puppy.
Transplanted Texan
I’m a relatively recent London implant, having moved from Texas a few years back. I’m surrounded mostly by Brits who are usually amused and occasionally appalled at some of my comments.
“In fact, why are we even talking about this?” I asked. “A couple batons aren’t gonna do the trick when the rioters have Molotov cocktails, bricks and knifes, and they outnumber the police.”
When I first moved here I was surprised when I discovered that “bobbies on the beat” (cops on the street) don’t carry guns. Apparently, when the Metropolitan Police Service was founded they thought arming the officers would scare the public. How quaint, I thought.
There is an armed contingent, the Authorised Firearms Officers, which makes up about a third of the Met’s numbers, but they don’t patrol routinely and are only called in when needed. And getting a firearms certificate as a private citizen is very difficult, if not impossible, unless you live in the countryside.
Now, I’m not suggesting police just go out and start capping people carte blanche, but I can assure you those brave and defiant “hooded youths” (as they were described by many a British broadcaster) would not have been so brave or defiant if they had a lethal weapon pointed at them.
Yes, there’s an argument for unarmed police, and yes the British police do have an armed unit, but I’m not going to get into the minutiae. I just want to know, what’s so bad about a show of force in the form of a gun?
I mean, you don’t see anything like this kicking off in Texas, do you?
By Heather Lacy, NBC News assignment editor
LONDON - We’ve been on five-day roller-coaster here in the NBC News London bureau, what with riots and looting breaking out across the capital and the country.
We’re all wondering if the “criminality pure and simple,” as Prime Minister David Cameron put it, will pop up again, or if the uneasy calm we have now will hold.
Everyone in the newsroom has been discussing the recent violence, the worst this country has seen in three decades. Why would people set fire to stores, cars and homes, looting, wounding, killing and destroying property as they go? Who could do this? How did the police fail to bring order for days?
As everyone in the newsroom debated the use of force – whether to use rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons, Tasers, even bean-bag guns – I wondered why they were wasting their breath.
“If your cops had guns, day number 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this, it would NOT have happened!” I said at a recent meeting.
People stopped talking and looked at me. A couple giggled. Those who know me weren’t too horrified, but others stared at me like I’d just drop-kicked a puppy.
Transplanted Texan
I’m a relatively recent London implant, having moved from Texas a few years back. I’m surrounded mostly by Brits who are usually amused and occasionally appalled at some of my comments.
“In fact, why are we even talking about this?” I asked. “A couple batons aren’t gonna do the trick when the rioters have Molotov cocktails, bricks and knifes, and they outnumber the police.”
When I first moved here I was surprised when I discovered that “bobbies on the beat” (cops on the street) don’t carry guns. Apparently, when the Metropolitan Police Service was founded they thought arming the officers would scare the public. How quaint, I thought.
There is an armed contingent, the Authorised Firearms Officers, which makes up about a third of the Met’s numbers, but they don’t patrol routinely and are only called in when needed. And getting a firearms certificate as a private citizen is very difficult, if not impossible, unless you live in the countryside.
Now, I’m not suggesting police just go out and start capping people carte blanche, but I can assure you those brave and defiant “hooded youths” (as they were described by many a British broadcaster) would not have been so brave or defiant if they had a lethal weapon pointed at them.
Yes, there’s an argument for unarmed police, and yes the British police do have an armed unit, but I’m not going to get into the minutiae. I just want to know, what’s so bad about a show of force in the form of a gun?
I mean, you don’t see anything like this kicking off in Texas, do you?
"Why did the riots happen? Who are the rioters? What can we do to end this madness?"
Why did the riots happen? Who are the rioters? What can we do to end this madness?
by Tony Parsons, Daily Mirror 13/08/2011
THE Britain that we knew, the Britain we loved, died on our streets this week. It went in an orgy of mindless wanton murderous violence.
The apocalyptic images of fear are etched in our minds. Decent hard-working people burned out of their homes and businesses, the woman jumping for her life from a blazing building and the have-a-go hero beaten to death in the street.
There are tens of thousands of riot police patrolling our cities, vast numbers of young people locked up and 24-hour courts to mete out justice to them.
ven now it is hard to make sense of such a cataclysmic week. Trying to understand the feelings of the rioters is like trying to understand the feelings of a man who has his boot pressed against your throat.
They don’t have hope? They don’t have a future? They don’t have plasma TVs? Who cares?
Frankly, my dear, many of us do not have the stomach for sympathy right now.
We just want to see the rioters banged up and stewing in their own filth.
Too many innocent people have suffered because of these riots. Too many have felt terror. Too many have had their world ripped apart.
Too many have been burned from their homes. Too many have seen their children weep in terror. And too many have seen their loved ones die.
When the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on the East End, my grandmother did not ponder the underlying causes of Fascism.
And yet if we are to hang onto some last hope that this is still a civilised society, then the questions have to be asked. Why did the riots happen? Who are the rioters? And what must be done to prevent them making our lives a misery? As the assorted goons get dragged off to court, much is being made of the almost infinite variety of scumbags.
Grown men and children. Male and female. White and black. The sons of single parents and allegedly the daughter of a millionaire, plus a primary school teacher.
An organic chef and university student are also alleged to have been involved.
But as a Londoner, let me make a wild guess – the overwhelming majority of the rioters will turn out to be of a very specific type, and it was this lost generation that made the riots possible.
As all law and order broke down on the streets of the capital, when the buildings burned and the children screamed and 999 calls meant nothing, there were opportunists who joined the riots to grab whatever they could. Common thieves will always be with us.
But most of the rioters were not organic chefs. They were of the generation that is good for nothing and yet scared of nothing.
Without the gang culture of black London, none of the riots would have happened – including the riots in other cities like Manchester and Birmingham where most of rioters were white.
The snarling, amoral pack mentality of gangs that are too often a substitute for family, school and work made the riots possible. These youths were the shock troops of the riots, and its inspiration – even in the white riots of Piccadilly, Manchester.
This is desperately sad for all of us – but especially all the decent, hard working black men and women in this country. They have worked hard for all they have. They are a positive force in this country. They do not deserve to see the clock turned back to the Seventies and Eighties, when racism was overt and vicious. But that is what will happen. The images of black youths running wild will not be quickly forgotten.
We hear a lot about feral children. But when Tottenham erupted it was pointed out that there were many men in the area who are in their late twenties, and who have never worked.
It has always been hard for this community. Too many schools where it is not cool to study. Too many homes where there is no father figure to put the fear of God in you. Too many streets where they have been sapped by a welfare system that was meant to protect the vulnerable not bankroll an unemployable generation.
Too many looks from white faces who fear and hate you because you are black.
Yes, and too many dreams built around hard-core porn that is now as difficult to get as electricity or running water. Too many songs where women are “bitches” and men make their point of view with extreme violence.
Too many Grand Theft Auto fantasies that make the powerless dream of being powerful. It is an unholy mess, and it is a national tragedy, and I see no end to it.
There are too many out there who have no respect. Too many who are uneducated, illiterate and stupid. Too many who do not know the difference between right and wrong. Too many who think the rules do not apply to them.
The story going round is the riot in Tottenham started when, after the death of Mark Duggan, a girl threw a stone at the police and was then pushed by a cop. But what do you think is going to happen if you throw rocks at the police?
The key, I believe with all my heart, is social mobility. Children of every background need to believe that hard work will be rewarded. That if you study at school it will result in higher education and a job. That – no matter where you come from – it is possible to get up and out if you want it bad enough, and if you work hard enough.
But social mobility is dead in this country now. Too many have no hope of self-improvement. There is an Old Etonian in 10 Downing Street who despises the idea of grammar schools. Because they are unfair. Just like life, you mean?
I spent the first five years of my life living in a flat above a greengrocer’s shop. Yet I never doubted I could be anything I wanted to be.
Why did the riots happen? Because we live with a lot of scum in our midst.
Mark Twain said, it is cheaper to build schools than jails.
But we did not build the schools, and we let the schools we do have rot. Now we must build the jails.
by Tony Parsons, Daily Mirror 13/08/2011
THE Britain that we knew, the Britain we loved, died on our streets this week. It went in an orgy of mindless wanton murderous violence.
The apocalyptic images of fear are etched in our minds. Decent hard-working people burned out of their homes and businesses, the woman jumping for her life from a blazing building and the have-a-go hero beaten to death in the street.
There are tens of thousands of riot police patrolling our cities, vast numbers of young people locked up and 24-hour courts to mete out justice to them.
ven now it is hard to make sense of such a cataclysmic week. Trying to understand the feelings of the rioters is like trying to understand the feelings of a man who has his boot pressed against your throat.
They don’t have hope? They don’t have a future? They don’t have plasma TVs? Who cares?
Frankly, my dear, many of us do not have the stomach for sympathy right now.
We just want to see the rioters banged up and stewing in their own filth.
Too many innocent people have suffered because of these riots. Too many have felt terror. Too many have had their world ripped apart.
Too many have been burned from their homes. Too many have seen their children weep in terror. And too many have seen their loved ones die.
When the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on the East End, my grandmother did not ponder the underlying causes of Fascism.
And yet if we are to hang onto some last hope that this is still a civilised society, then the questions have to be asked. Why did the riots happen? Who are the rioters? And what must be done to prevent them making our lives a misery? As the assorted goons get dragged off to court, much is being made of the almost infinite variety of scumbags.
Grown men and children. Male and female. White and black. The sons of single parents and allegedly the daughter of a millionaire, plus a primary school teacher.
An organic chef and university student are also alleged to have been involved.
But as a Londoner, let me make a wild guess – the overwhelming majority of the rioters will turn out to be of a very specific type, and it was this lost generation that made the riots possible.
As all law and order broke down on the streets of the capital, when the buildings burned and the children screamed and 999 calls meant nothing, there were opportunists who joined the riots to grab whatever they could. Common thieves will always be with us.
But most of the rioters were not organic chefs. They were of the generation that is good for nothing and yet scared of nothing.
Without the gang culture of black London, none of the riots would have happened – including the riots in other cities like Manchester and Birmingham where most of rioters were white.
The snarling, amoral pack mentality of gangs that are too often a substitute for family, school and work made the riots possible. These youths were the shock troops of the riots, and its inspiration – even in the white riots of Piccadilly, Manchester.
This is desperately sad for all of us – but especially all the decent, hard working black men and women in this country. They have worked hard for all they have. They are a positive force in this country. They do not deserve to see the clock turned back to the Seventies and Eighties, when racism was overt and vicious. But that is what will happen. The images of black youths running wild will not be quickly forgotten.
We hear a lot about feral children. But when Tottenham erupted it was pointed out that there were many men in the area who are in their late twenties, and who have never worked.
It has always been hard for this community. Too many schools where it is not cool to study. Too many homes where there is no father figure to put the fear of God in you. Too many streets where they have been sapped by a welfare system that was meant to protect the vulnerable not bankroll an unemployable generation.
Too many looks from white faces who fear and hate you because you are black.
Yes, and too many dreams built around hard-core porn that is now as difficult to get as electricity or running water. Too many songs where women are “bitches” and men make their point of view with extreme violence.
Too many Grand Theft Auto fantasies that make the powerless dream of being powerful. It is an unholy mess, and it is a national tragedy, and I see no end to it.
There are too many out there who have no respect. Too many who are uneducated, illiterate and stupid. Too many who do not know the difference between right and wrong. Too many who think the rules do not apply to them.
The story going round is the riot in Tottenham started when, after the death of Mark Duggan, a girl threw a stone at the police and was then pushed by a cop. But what do you think is going to happen if you throw rocks at the police?
The key, I believe with all my heart, is social mobility. Children of every background need to believe that hard work will be rewarded. That if you study at school it will result in higher education and a job. That – no matter where you come from – it is possible to get up and out if you want it bad enough, and if you work hard enough.
But social mobility is dead in this country now. Too many have no hope of self-improvement. There is an Old Etonian in 10 Downing Street who despises the idea of grammar schools. Because they are unfair. Just like life, you mean?
I spent the first five years of my life living in a flat above a greengrocer’s shop. Yet I never doubted I could be anything I wanted to be.
Why did the riots happen? Because we live with a lot of scum in our midst.
Mark Twain said, it is cheaper to build schools than jails.
But we did not build the schools, and we let the schools we do have rot. Now we must build the jails.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Credit to top cops says PM Cameron
The Sun:
Credit to top cops, says PM
DAVID Cameron yesterday backed down in a row with senior cops over who ordered tougher tactics that ended the riots.
The PM admitted it was police chiefs who decided to flood the streets with greater manpower.
On a visit to riot-hit Manchester, he said: "It's right that police took those decisions, changed tactics, and increased the number of officers." And he insisted that he never questioned riot cops' bravery.
Acting Met chief Tim Godwin had said political leaders "weren't there" when he changed tactics on Monday.
And Police Federation vice chairman Simon Reed dubbed any ministers' attempt to grab credit "a cheap shot" that "slighted police officers".
The PM has also asked top US cop Bill Bratton - who crushed LA's gangs - to work as a consultant for the British force.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Ed Miliband said his party's failure to tackle Britain's moral decay when in power contributed to the riots.
He said: "We did better at rebuilding the fabric of the country than the ethics."
Suspect's family are kicked out
A RIOT suspect and his family are being turfed out of their council home in the first case of its kind.
The mother of Daniel Sartain-Clarke, 18, was served an eviction notice by Wandsworth council, South London, yesterday.
The teenager, from Battersea, was remanded in custody charged with violent disorder and trying to loot electrical goods from a Currys in Clapham Junction.
Local authorities have powers to evict tenants if one member of the household is involved in crime.
Council bosses said they want the "strongest possible action" taken against rioters and looters.
Other councils across England are thought to be planning similar legal action.
Sartain-Clarke's mother, who also has a daughter, eight, said the eviction breached her human rights.
THE SAS is on extra alert amid fears extremists will use the riots as cover to launch a terror spectacular
Credit to top cops, says PM
DAVID Cameron yesterday backed down in a row with senior cops over who ordered tougher tactics that ended the riots.
The PM admitted it was police chiefs who decided to flood the streets with greater manpower.
On a visit to riot-hit Manchester, he said: "It's right that police took those decisions, changed tactics, and increased the number of officers." And he insisted that he never questioned riot cops' bravery.
Acting Met chief Tim Godwin had said political leaders "weren't there" when he changed tactics on Monday.
And Police Federation vice chairman Simon Reed dubbed any ministers' attempt to grab credit "a cheap shot" that "slighted police officers".
The PM has also asked top US cop Bill Bratton - who crushed LA's gangs - to work as a consultant for the British force.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Ed Miliband said his party's failure to tackle Britain's moral decay when in power contributed to the riots.
He said: "We did better at rebuilding the fabric of the country than the ethics."
Suspect's family are kicked out
A RIOT suspect and his family are being turfed out of their council home in the first case of its kind.
The mother of Daniel Sartain-Clarke, 18, was served an eviction notice by Wandsworth council, South London, yesterday.
The teenager, from Battersea, was remanded in custody charged with violent disorder and trying to loot electrical goods from a Currys in Clapham Junction.
Local authorities have powers to evict tenants if one member of the household is involved in crime.
Council bosses said they want the "strongest possible action" taken against rioters and looters.
Other councils across England are thought to be planning similar legal action.
Sartain-Clarke's mother, who also has a daughter, eight, said the eviction breached her human rights.
THE SAS is on extra alert amid fears extremists will use the riots as cover to launch a terror spectacular
August 13, England riots: Saturday night show of force
Show of force to deter Saturday night troubleBy Richard Hall
U.K. Independent
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Police forces around England will have an increased presence on the streets tonight to counter fears of more drink-fuelled trouble.
Forces in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham – the cities worst hit by riots – will stage shows of force to deter gangs from coming out on to the streets. Speaking during a visit to Enfield, north London, which was hit by rioters on Monday night, Home Secretary, Theresa May, said: "We will be sustaining the numbers for a period of time. We have had some quieter nights, but we are not complacent about that."
Ms May said officers would be brought in from areas not affected by the riots to help maintain levels if necessary. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police could not give exact numbers, but said: "We are operationally ready to deal with any disturbances."
Greater Manchester Police had "no intelligence" on any disturbances, but would maintain the numbers that have been out in the past few nights.
A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said they would have about 6,200 police out on the streets this weekend. "If suddenly we have indication that something is happening then we can increase [the numbers]," the spokeswoman said.
On a walkabout in Croydon yesterday, London Mayor, Boris Johnson, said "the right level of policing" was now in place in the capital.
U.K. Independent
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Police forces around England will have an increased presence on the streets tonight to counter fears of more drink-fuelled trouble.
Forces in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham – the cities worst hit by riots – will stage shows of force to deter gangs from coming out on to the streets. Speaking during a visit to Enfield, north London, which was hit by rioters on Monday night, Home Secretary, Theresa May, said: "We will be sustaining the numbers for a period of time. We have had some quieter nights, but we are not complacent about that."
Ms May said officers would be brought in from areas not affected by the riots to help maintain levels if necessary. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police could not give exact numbers, but said: "We are operationally ready to deal with any disturbances."
Greater Manchester Police had "no intelligence" on any disturbances, but would maintain the numbers that have been out in the past few nights.
A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said they would have about 6,200 police out on the streets this weekend. "If suddenly we have indication that something is happening then we can increase [the numbers]," the spokeswoman said.
On a walkabout in Croydon yesterday, London Mayor, Boris Johnson, said "the right level of policing" was now in place in the capital.
England riots: East End rioters and Olympics
August 13, 2011 India Real Time/WSJ report: [...] In a Thursday editorial, the Indian Express focused instead on what the riots mean for the London Olympic Games. It noted that “it would not be sensible to judge security arrangements for 2012 on the basis” of the recent nights of rioting, since security will be a lot tighter during the Olympics.
At the same time, it saw the rioting as evidence of the government’s failure to transform the spirit and youth of London’s East End, a traditionally working-class and multicultural area of the city. “If the purpose was to rebrand an entire swathe of one of the world’s greatest cities, to demonstrate the vibrancy of the communities that call it home, then the images that have been coming out of East London — particularly Hackney, one of the Games’ major locations — do tend to undermine the Olympic mission,” it said.
While it described the challenges the U.K. government has to face between now and the start of the Games as “susbstantial,” the editorial also said one should “never underestimate the ability of events like the Olympics to, indeed, build solidarity even within communities as stressed as those which produced East London’s young rioters. It seems London did not just want the Games. It needed them, too.”
At the same time, it saw the rioting as evidence of the government’s failure to transform the spirit and youth of London’s East End, a traditionally working-class and multicultural area of the city. “If the purpose was to rebrand an entire swathe of one of the world’s greatest cities, to demonstrate the vibrancy of the communities that call it home, then the images that have been coming out of East London — particularly Hackney, one of the Games’ major locations — do tend to undermine the Olympic mission,” it said.
While it described the challenges the U.K. government has to face between now and the start of the Games as “susbstantial,” the editorial also said one should “never underestimate the ability of events like the Olympics to, indeed, build solidarity even within communities as stressed as those which produced East London’s young rioters. It seems London did not just want the Games. It needed them, too.”
England riots: Egyptians advise British
From August 13 New York Times report, For Egyptians, British Riots Are a Mix of Familiar and Peculiar:
Six months after Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain recommended using the peaceful Egyptian revolution as a model lesson in his country’s schools, his words took on new relevance in the minds of many Egyptians as chaos gripped London, the capital of their country’s former colonial ruler.
“I hope Egyptians will stop calling themselves ‘uncivilized’ now,” Yasmine Gado, an Egyptian-American human rights lawyer, wrote in a Twitter posting about the riots.
Nour Ayman Nour, an activist and the son of an Egyptian presidential candidate, saluted the juxtaposition in a note on his Facebook page: “London Riots = beginning of the end to the sense of civil inferiority Egyptians have to the West :)”
At a British club in the Maadi district of Cairo, a vestige of colonialism in a neighborhood still crowded with Westerners, Sameh Zackaria, 25, an Egyptian doorman, said he felt newly proud of Egypt. “In a rich society like Great Britain, they should do better,” he said.
Many people could not decide which was more astonishing: the apparent avarice of the relatively affluent British rioters, or the uncanny familiarity of Mr. Cameron’s response. On Friday, he suggested restricting online social media like Twitter and Facebook, because they were bringing crowds of hooded young people together to loot and set fires, just as Mr. Mubarak once shut down the Internet in Egypt to stop the wave of protests.
“Mubarak didn’t come from an election box, but Mr. Cameron came from an election box,” Mr. Zackaria said.
Poverty and inequality helped fuel the revolution this winter in Egypt, where about half the population lives on the equivalent of less than $2 a day. But after the Egyptian police withdrew, there was only a night or two of looting in Cairo before people organized their own neighborhood brigades of volunteers to keep the peace.
In a torrent of Twitter postings, many Egyptians suggested the British should take a lesson.
“Dear tweeps in London,” an Egyptian activist, Ahmed Al Ish, wrote in a message to the British, “you can start forming neighborhood patrols to protect yourselves instead of panic on Twitter!!”
Another activist, Omar Barazi, wrote, “Egypt’s protesters are upholding democratic principles, while London’s rioters are holding-up plasma screens.”
Leaders around the region took the opportunity to enjoy the role reversal. In Libya, where Britain is among the leaders of a Western bombing campaign against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the deputy foreign minister, Khalid Kaim, appeared to mimic Western oratory when he told the state news agency that Mr. Cameron had “lost his legitimacy and must go.”
“These demonstrations show that the British people reject this government, which is trying to impose itself through force,” said Mr. Kaim, who called for action by the United Nations Security Council.
In Iran, criticized by British leaders for the brutal repression of protesters after a disputed election two years ago, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sounded outraged at the conduct of the British police. “What kind of a treatment is this for the people who run out of patience because of poverty and discrimination?” he said to reporters, according to the Reuters news agency. “I advise them to correct their savage behavior.”
Some in the streets of Cairo also seemed to enjoy a chance to patronize the British.
“This is an uncivilized attitude, and we as the Egyptian people condemn it,” said Hany Bahana, 44, owner of an importing company who was attending a demonstration on Friday in Tahrir Square, the center of the protests that toppled Mr. Mubarak. “We hope that the English people go back to their senses and reject violence.”
In both Tunis and Cairo, activists joked in Twitter postings that they should send teams of experienced revolutionaries to assist the British rioters. But others were more earnest. With their own struggles with riot police officers still fresh in their memory, many struggled to identify with the cause of the rioters in London and other cities, or even to claim it as one with their own.
“Comparisons with our great #egypt uprising and kids looting at #londonriots bother me,” Simon Hanna, a British Egyptian journalist in Cairo wrote. “But you cant ignore that inequality fueled both.”
“#Tunisia Started it, and #Egypt sparked it to the world,” an Egyptian named Ziad El Adawy wrote on his Twitter account. “ #LondonRiots be aware of your rights.”
Six months after Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain recommended using the peaceful Egyptian revolution as a model lesson in his country’s schools, his words took on new relevance in the minds of many Egyptians as chaos gripped London, the capital of their country’s former colonial ruler.
“I hope Egyptians will stop calling themselves ‘uncivilized’ now,” Yasmine Gado, an Egyptian-American human rights lawyer, wrote in a Twitter posting about the riots.
Nour Ayman Nour, an activist and the son of an Egyptian presidential candidate, saluted the juxtaposition in a note on his Facebook page: “London Riots = beginning of the end to the sense of civil inferiority Egyptians have to the West :)”
At a British club in the Maadi district of Cairo, a vestige of colonialism in a neighborhood still crowded with Westerners, Sameh Zackaria, 25, an Egyptian doorman, said he felt newly proud of Egypt. “In a rich society like Great Britain, they should do better,” he said.
Many people could not decide which was more astonishing: the apparent avarice of the relatively affluent British rioters, or the uncanny familiarity of Mr. Cameron’s response. On Friday, he suggested restricting online social media like Twitter and Facebook, because they were bringing crowds of hooded young people together to loot and set fires, just as Mr. Mubarak once shut down the Internet in Egypt to stop the wave of protests.
“Mubarak didn’t come from an election box, but Mr. Cameron came from an election box,” Mr. Zackaria said.
Poverty and inequality helped fuel the revolution this winter in Egypt, where about half the population lives on the equivalent of less than $2 a day. But after the Egyptian police withdrew, there was only a night or two of looting in Cairo before people organized their own neighborhood brigades of volunteers to keep the peace.
In a torrent of Twitter postings, many Egyptians suggested the British should take a lesson.
“Dear tweeps in London,” an Egyptian activist, Ahmed Al Ish, wrote in a message to the British, “you can start forming neighborhood patrols to protect yourselves instead of panic on Twitter!!”
Another activist, Omar Barazi, wrote, “Egypt’s protesters are upholding democratic principles, while London’s rioters are holding-up plasma screens.”
Leaders around the region took the opportunity to enjoy the role reversal. In Libya, where Britain is among the leaders of a Western bombing campaign against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the deputy foreign minister, Khalid Kaim, appeared to mimic Western oratory when he told the state news agency that Mr. Cameron had “lost his legitimacy and must go.”
“These demonstrations show that the British people reject this government, which is trying to impose itself through force,” said Mr. Kaim, who called for action by the United Nations Security Council.
In Iran, criticized by British leaders for the brutal repression of protesters after a disputed election two years ago, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sounded outraged at the conduct of the British police. “What kind of a treatment is this for the people who run out of patience because of poverty and discrimination?” he said to reporters, according to the Reuters news agency. “I advise them to correct their savage behavior.”
Some in the streets of Cairo also seemed to enjoy a chance to patronize the British.
“This is an uncivilized attitude, and we as the Egyptian people condemn it,” said Hany Bahana, 44, owner of an importing company who was attending a demonstration on Friday in Tahrir Square, the center of the protests that toppled Mr. Mubarak. “We hope that the English people go back to their senses and reject violence.”
In both Tunis and Cairo, activists joked in Twitter postings that they should send teams of experienced revolutionaries to assist the British rioters. But others were more earnest. With their own struggles with riot police officers still fresh in their memory, many struggled to identify with the cause of the rioters in London and other cities, or even to claim it as one with their own.
“Comparisons with our great #egypt uprising and kids looting at #londonriots bother me,” Simon Hanna, a British Egyptian journalist in Cairo wrote. “But you cant ignore that inequality fueled both.”
“#Tunisia Started it, and #Egypt sparked it to the world,” an Egyptian named Ziad El Adawy wrote on his Twitter account. “ #LondonRiots be aware of your rights.”
London riots: Neighbours mount anti-gang patrols
London riots: Neighbours mount anti-gang patrols amid fears of far-right agitation
Homeowners and shopkeepers took to the streets last night to protect their neighbourhoods from the gangs amid concerns far-right groups are attempting to take advantage of community tensions. [...]
Homeowners and shopkeepers took to the streets last night to protect their neighbourhoods from the gangs amid concerns far-right groups are attempting to take advantage of community tensions. [...]
England riots: Pay issues for riot-damaged shops
England riots: Pay issues for riot-damaged shops
12 August 2011 Last updated at 07:41 ET
Businesses that were damaged and closed as a result of riots in English towns and cities might still have to pay the wages of staff.
Only those who have a "lay-off clause" in their contract will have work and pay halted as a result of the problems, lawyers have explained.
And one lawyer said it could be difficult for employers to sack the rioters themselves.
The government has announced a fund to assist businesses to rebuild.
Deadline
The unrest, which began on Saturday before spreading to various areas of England in the following nights, left many homes and businesses damaged. Insurers have promised to get the rebuilding process under way swiftly.
Uninsured firms and householders will be able to make a claim to their local police authority under the Riot Damages Act to cover the cost of getting their property back to normal.
On Thursday, Prime Minister David Cameron said that a £20m support scheme would assist in paying for this, while the deadline for claims would be extended from 14 to 42 days.
But businesses might still have to pay staff, or be "creative" in working around temporary closures, according to Peter Mooney, head of consultancy at the Employment Law Advisory Service Limited.
Many employees would not have a lay-off clause in their contracts and so should continue to be paid.
But employers should talk to these members of staff, perhaps encouraging them to bring forward any paid leave instead, he said.
Meanwhile, Andrew Brown, a senior solicitor in Anderson Strathern LLP's employment unit, said that some businesses might find it difficult to sack anyone involved in the riots or looting for misconduct.
This was because it occurred outside the workplace and might not directly affect the reputation of the business.
12 August 2011 Last updated at 07:41 ET
Businesses that were damaged and closed as a result of riots in English towns and cities might still have to pay the wages of staff.
Only those who have a "lay-off clause" in their contract will have work and pay halted as a result of the problems, lawyers have explained.
And one lawyer said it could be difficult for employers to sack the rioters themselves.
The government has announced a fund to assist businesses to rebuild.
Deadline
The unrest, which began on Saturday before spreading to various areas of England in the following nights, left many homes and businesses damaged. Insurers have promised to get the rebuilding process under way swiftly.
Uninsured firms and householders will be able to make a claim to their local police authority under the Riot Damages Act to cover the cost of getting their property back to normal.
On Thursday, Prime Minister David Cameron said that a £20m support scheme would assist in paying for this, while the deadline for claims would be extended from 14 to 42 days.
But businesses might still have to pay staff, or be "creative" in working around temporary closures, according to Peter Mooney, head of consultancy at the Employment Law Advisory Service Limited.
Many employees would not have a lay-off clause in their contracts and so should continue to be paid.
But employers should talk to these members of staff, perhaps encouraging them to bring forward any paid leave instead, he said.
Meanwhile, Andrew Brown, a senior solicitor in Anderson Strathern LLP's employment unit, said that some businesses might find it difficult to sack anyone involved in the riots or looting for misconduct.
This was because it occurred outside the workplace and might not directly affect the reputation of the business.
Portrait of England rioters emerges from court cases
Portrait of UK rioters emerges in round-the-clock court cases
Arrested include those with criminal records, a gifted runner, college students; nearly 600 charged with violence in London
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 8/12/2011 6:19:10 AM ET 2011-08-12T10:19:10
LONDON — Portraits of those accused of violence, disorder and looting began to emerge Friday after another day of round-the-clock court hearings in London, Birmingham and Manchester for alleged offenders in Britain's worst unrest in decades.
They included suspects with criminal records, but also a teenage ballerina, the mother of a 6-week-old child, college students, and a gifted track and field athlete who has served as a youth ambassador for the London 2012 Olympics.
Meanwhile, police flooded the streets to maintain an uneasy peace. No major incidents of disorder were reported overnight Thursday.
Steve Kavanagh, deputy assistant commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, said 16,000 officers would remain on duty in the capital on Friday. That is their biggest peacetime deployment and compares with a normal figure of around 2,500.
London police said Friday they have charged almost 600 people with violence, disorder and looting. Across the country, more than 1,700 people have been arrested.
Hundreds of stores were looted, buildings were set ablaze and several people died amid the mayhem that broke out Saturday in London and spread over four nights across England.
Victims include three men in Birmingham run down by a car as they defended their neighborhood. Police are questioning three suspects on suspicion of murder.
Detectives also opened a murder inquiry after a 68-year-old a man who confronted rioters on a London street died of his injuries late Thursday. A 22-year-old man was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder.
Grace of a grieving father speaks to a wounded Britain
Little leniency
The court system has shown little leniency in dealing with those accused of the participating in the unrest.
According to The Guardian, most judges considered the maximum punishment available to magistrates in lower courts — six months in prison and about $8,100 — to be insufficient for the alleged offenders. The cases were generally referred to higher courts, where they will be heard before a jury.
Few suspected rioters were granted bail.
Eighteen-year-old Chelsea Ives, a talented runner who has been pictured with lawmakers and sports stars in the House of Commons, was charged with rioting in east London after her mother saw her throwing bricks at a police car on television.
She even boasted that she had "the best day ever," the court was told, according to The Telegraph. In her role as an Olympics ambassador, she has met London Mayor Boris Johnson and London Olympics chief Sebastian Coe, the paper said.
"It was gut-wrenching but it was right. What could normal, honest parents do?" her mother Adrienne Ives told The Daily Express.
Video: Student recovering after attack in London riots
In the northern city of Manchester, 47-year-old Gary Herriot, who has 126 previous convictions, was found with $1,600 worth of jewelry, a court heard. He pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and is set to be sentenced later, the Express said.
An 11-year-old girl in the central city of Nottingham was accused of being part of a "large scale rampage" when she hurled stones at windows, according to The Telegraph. She reportedly admitted to her part in the unrest and refused to apologize in court.
The girl was referred to a youth offender panel and she and her father were ordered to cooperate with local youth authorities, the paper said.
One person to hand herself in was a 17-year-old girl who had been doing ballet since she was a young child and aspired to be a dance teacher. Although she did not enter a plea, she turned herself in to police after seeing a photograph from CCTV of herself looting an electrical shop in Croydon, south London. Prosecutors say she was pictured stealing flat screen TVs from a store that lost $310,000 worth of property and suffered $24,400 in damages, The Guardian reported.
In south London, 23-year-old Nicholas Robinson, an electrical engineering student with no criminal record, was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to stealing bottles of water worth $5, The Guardian reported.
College graduate Natasha Reid, 24, handed herself in because she was "unable to sleep" after looting a television from an electrical store. She was warned that despite her remorse she could still face jail.
A millionaire's daughter, Laura Johnson, 19, was being held in jail after she appeared in court in Bexley near London after being arrested behind the wheel of a car filled with stolen electrical goods and alcohol worth some $7,500.
Ahmed Farah, 27, a journalism student, was refused bail after being charged with possession of a knife in Hackney, east London, scene of the some of the worst rioting in the capital.
Other cases reported included that of 20-year-old dental nurse Shereece Ashley, who was jailed for three months after leaving her infant son at home to join looters at a London store where she took a television and a DVD player; Linda Boyd, 31, who had 96 previous convictions for theft, will be sentenced next week over accusations that she stole alcohol, cigarettes and cellphone accessories in Manchester; and 16 defendants in northwest London accused of violent disorder for smashing windows and robbing diners at a cafe.
Too soft?
Police, meanwhile, hit back against claims they were too soft in their initial response to the disorder.
Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, acknowledged that police had faced "an unprecedented situation, unique circumstances" — but said it was police themselves, rather than "political interference," that got the situation under control.
"The more robust policing tactics you saw were not a function of political interference," he told the BBC. "They were a function of the numbers being available to allow the chief constables to change their tactics."
Britain's Parliament held an emergency debate on the riots Thursday, with Prime Minister David Cameron promising authorities would get strong powers to stop street mayhem from erupting again.
He said authorities were considering new powers, including allowing police to order thugs to remove masks or hoods, evicting troublemakers from subsidized housing and temporarily disabling cell phone instant messaging services.
Former NYC top cop to be consulted?
Cameron told lawmakers that he would look to cities like Boston for inspiration, and mentioned former Los Angeles, New York and Boston Police Chief William Bratton as a person who could offer advice.
Story: Cameron denies budget cuts caused UK riots
Bratton said in a statement he'd be "pleased and honored" to provide services and counsel in any capacity, adding that he loves London and has worked with British police for nearly 20 years.
A Downing Street spokeswoman denied a British tabloid report that Bratton has been “taken on” by Cameron as an “adviser.”
“The PM might meet with him but I wouldn’t say he’s been taken on in any formal capacity,” she told msnbc.com.
Cameron also said the government, police and intelligence services were looking at whether there should be limits on the use of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook or services like BlackBerry Messenger to spread disorder.
BlackBerry's simple and largely free messaging service was used by rioters to coordinate their activities, Cameron's office said.
Story: UK may disrupt social networks during unrest
Any move to disable the services temporarily is likely to be strongly opposed by civil libertarians.
The scale and ferocity of the rioting — not only in inner-city areas but also in some middle-class suburbs — has battered Britain's image as a civilized and peaceful society.
Reuters, The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
Arrested include those with criminal records, a gifted runner, college students; nearly 600 charged with violence in London
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 8/12/2011 6:19:10 AM ET 2011-08-12T10:19:10
LONDON — Portraits of those accused of violence, disorder and looting began to emerge Friday after another day of round-the-clock court hearings in London, Birmingham and Manchester for alleged offenders in Britain's worst unrest in decades.
They included suspects with criminal records, but also a teenage ballerina, the mother of a 6-week-old child, college students, and a gifted track and field athlete who has served as a youth ambassador for the London 2012 Olympics.
Meanwhile, police flooded the streets to maintain an uneasy peace. No major incidents of disorder were reported overnight Thursday.
Steve Kavanagh, deputy assistant commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, said 16,000 officers would remain on duty in the capital on Friday. That is their biggest peacetime deployment and compares with a normal figure of around 2,500.
London police said Friday they have charged almost 600 people with violence, disorder and looting. Across the country, more than 1,700 people have been arrested.
Hundreds of stores were looted, buildings were set ablaze and several people died amid the mayhem that broke out Saturday in London and spread over four nights across England.
Victims include three men in Birmingham run down by a car as they defended their neighborhood. Police are questioning three suspects on suspicion of murder.
Detectives also opened a murder inquiry after a 68-year-old a man who confronted rioters on a London street died of his injuries late Thursday. A 22-year-old man was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder.
Grace of a grieving father speaks to a wounded Britain
Little leniency
The court system has shown little leniency in dealing with those accused of the participating in the unrest.
According to The Guardian, most judges considered the maximum punishment available to magistrates in lower courts — six months in prison and about $8,100 — to be insufficient for the alleged offenders. The cases were generally referred to higher courts, where they will be heard before a jury.
Few suspected rioters were granted bail.
Eighteen-year-old Chelsea Ives, a talented runner who has been pictured with lawmakers and sports stars in the House of Commons, was charged with rioting in east London after her mother saw her throwing bricks at a police car on television.
She even boasted that she had "the best day ever," the court was told, according to The Telegraph. In her role as an Olympics ambassador, she has met London Mayor Boris Johnson and London Olympics chief Sebastian Coe, the paper said.
"It was gut-wrenching but it was right. What could normal, honest parents do?" her mother Adrienne Ives told The Daily Express.
Video: Student recovering after attack in London riots
In the northern city of Manchester, 47-year-old Gary Herriot, who has 126 previous convictions, was found with $1,600 worth of jewelry, a court heard. He pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and is set to be sentenced later, the Express said.
An 11-year-old girl in the central city of Nottingham was accused of being part of a "large scale rampage" when she hurled stones at windows, according to The Telegraph. She reportedly admitted to her part in the unrest and refused to apologize in court.
The girl was referred to a youth offender panel and she and her father were ordered to cooperate with local youth authorities, the paper said.
One person to hand herself in was a 17-year-old girl who had been doing ballet since she was a young child and aspired to be a dance teacher. Although she did not enter a plea, she turned herself in to police after seeing a photograph from CCTV of herself looting an electrical shop in Croydon, south London. Prosecutors say she was pictured stealing flat screen TVs from a store that lost $310,000 worth of property and suffered $24,400 in damages, The Guardian reported.
In south London, 23-year-old Nicholas Robinson, an electrical engineering student with no criminal record, was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to stealing bottles of water worth $5, The Guardian reported.
College graduate Natasha Reid, 24, handed herself in because she was "unable to sleep" after looting a television from an electrical store. She was warned that despite her remorse she could still face jail.
A millionaire's daughter, Laura Johnson, 19, was being held in jail after she appeared in court in Bexley near London after being arrested behind the wheel of a car filled with stolen electrical goods and alcohol worth some $7,500.
Ahmed Farah, 27, a journalism student, was refused bail after being charged with possession of a knife in Hackney, east London, scene of the some of the worst rioting in the capital.
Other cases reported included that of 20-year-old dental nurse Shereece Ashley, who was jailed for three months after leaving her infant son at home to join looters at a London store where she took a television and a DVD player; Linda Boyd, 31, who had 96 previous convictions for theft, will be sentenced next week over accusations that she stole alcohol, cigarettes and cellphone accessories in Manchester; and 16 defendants in northwest London accused of violent disorder for smashing windows and robbing diners at a cafe.
Too soft?
Police, meanwhile, hit back against claims they were too soft in their initial response to the disorder.
Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, acknowledged that police had faced "an unprecedented situation, unique circumstances" — but said it was police themselves, rather than "political interference," that got the situation under control.
"The more robust policing tactics you saw were not a function of political interference," he told the BBC. "They were a function of the numbers being available to allow the chief constables to change their tactics."
Britain's Parliament held an emergency debate on the riots Thursday, with Prime Minister David Cameron promising authorities would get strong powers to stop street mayhem from erupting again.
He said authorities were considering new powers, including allowing police to order thugs to remove masks or hoods, evicting troublemakers from subsidized housing and temporarily disabling cell phone instant messaging services.
Former NYC top cop to be consulted?
Cameron told lawmakers that he would look to cities like Boston for inspiration, and mentioned former Los Angeles, New York and Boston Police Chief William Bratton as a person who could offer advice.
Story: Cameron denies budget cuts caused UK riots
Bratton said in a statement he'd be "pleased and honored" to provide services and counsel in any capacity, adding that he loves London and has worked with British police for nearly 20 years.
A Downing Street spokeswoman denied a British tabloid report that Bratton has been “taken on” by Cameron as an “adviser.”
“The PM might meet with him but I wouldn’t say he’s been taken on in any formal capacity,” she told msnbc.com.
Cameron also said the government, police and intelligence services were looking at whether there should be limits on the use of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook or services like BlackBerry Messenger to spread disorder.
BlackBerry's simple and largely free messaging service was used by rioters to coordinate their activities, Cameron's office said.
Story: UK may disrupt social networks during unrest
Any move to disable the services temporarily is likely to be strongly opposed by civil libertarians.
The scale and ferocity of the rioting — not only in inner-city areas but also in some middle-class suburbs — has battered Britain's image as a civilized and peaceful society.
Reuters, The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.