London (CNN) -- Britain's rioters are counting the cost of
their rampage through London and other cities, as the streets remain
quiet and the police continue their efforts to bring all those
responsible to justice.
More than 1,600 people have now been arrested, the majority in the capital -- and the front pages of British newspapers are filled with the accounts of those hauled up in court, many during special overnight sessions.
Several highlight the case of 18-year-old Chelsea Ives, picked to be a London Olympics "ambassador" tasked with welcoming guests to the capital during next year's Games.
She was allegedly captured on video hurling bricks at a police car and was reported to police by her parents after they spotted her on news footage.
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Police have now launched a murder investigation into the death of a
68-year-old man who died Thursday after suffering serious head injuries
when he confronted looters in west London's Ealing neighborhood Monday.
They have issued closed-circuit video footage showing a looter suspected of carrying out the assault and appealed to the public to identify him.
Londoners can expect the "surge" of 16,000 police officers deployed since Tuesday to remain on the city's streets through the weekend, Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday.
The huge deployment comes against a backdrop of questions over Britain's policing approach, and as lawmakers raise the prospect that new powers could be granted to police to tackle future unrest.
Cameron told lawmakers at an emergency session of Parliament Thursday that police in London had waited too long to begin arresting rioters after unrest broke out Saturday."What became increasingly clear earlier this week was that there were simply far too few police deployed onto the streets. And the tactics they were using weren't working," he said. "Police chiefs have been frank with me about why this happened. Initially the police treated the situation too much as a public order issue -- rather than essentially one of crime."
This week's apparently orchestrated looting -- which occurred in different places at the same time -- presented "a new and unique challenge," but police had ultimately changed their approach, he told lawmakers.
They are now being given more tools to tackle disorder, Cameron said, with "every contingency" being looked at, including greater powers to ask suspected troublemakers to remove their masks and measures to prevent troublemakers using social media to coordinate disorder.
The violence first broke out in north London's Tottenham neighborhood after a protest over the death of a local man, Mark Duggan, who Cameron said was shot by police.
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The Aug. 4 shooting occurred when officers from a police unit that
deals with gun crime in the black community stopped a cab carrying the
29-year-old father of four in the working-class, predominantly
Afro-Caribbean district of Tottenham, the Independent Police Complaints
Commission (IPCC) said.
Cameron promised a thorough inquiry into Duggan's death, but said it did not justify the ensuing violence.
What started as a peaceful demonstration Saturday in front of the police department by community members and Duggan's relatives and friends was "used as an excuse by opportunist thugs in gangs, first in Tottenham itself, then across London, and then in other cities," he said. "It is completely wrong to say there is any justifiable causal link."
In London, police Friday reported 1,051 riot-related arrests, with 591 people charged. Police in West Midlands reported 445 arrests since Monday evening and Greater Manchester Police listed 176.
London's Metropolitan Police said three of the latest suspects to be charged included a 19-year-old man who is believed to have posted a picture on Twitter posing with a haul of suspected stolen goods, and two teenage girls charged with counts including robbery, attempted robbery and possession of a knife.
Cameron said those convicted can expect to go to jail."Keeping people safe is the first duty of government," he said. "The whole country has been shocked by the most appalling scenes of people looting, violence, vandalizing and thieving."It is criminality pure and simple. And there is absolutely no excuse for it." But much damage has been done, with retailers losing more than £100 million ($161 million) over four nights of looting and violence, an analysis found.
Cameron promised government help for families and businesses whose properties have been damaged. They will receive tax breaks and grants, including a new £20 million ($32 million) fund to help affected retailers get back in business, he said. Courts in London and elsewhere have been holding late-night sessions to process those who have been arrested; some people have been jailed.
Police said residents could help them by identifying photographs of looting suspects. The Metropolitan Police and other police forces posted surveillance photos online. Detectives, investigating Wednesday morning's hit-and-run incident in Birmingham in which three young men were killed, arrested on Thursday three more males on suspicion of murder. They are ages 16, 17 and 26. A 32-year-old man who had been arrested Wednesday has been released on bail. The victims, ages 31, 30 and 20, were leaving prayers at 1 a.m. and returning to a gas station they had been guarding to protect it from possible looters when the incident occurred, witnesses said.
The violence comes against a backdrop of austerity measures and budget cuts. But Cameron, community leaders and police have repeatedly pointed to a criminal, rather than political, motivation for the looting.
Analysts say a mix of economic and social tensions has been at play in the unrest, with deprivation a key factor. Those seen taking part in rioting and looting have been from diverse ethnic backgrounds and span a wide range of ages, and many are young.
CNN's Laura Smith-Spark, Carol Jordan, Ed Payne, David Wilkinson, Anna Stewart and Bharati Naik contributed to this report.
Reference: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/08/12/uk.riots/index.html
More than 1,600 people have now been arrested, the majority in the capital -- and the front pages of British newspapers are filled with the accounts of those hauled up in court, many during special overnight sessions.
Several highlight the case of 18-year-old Chelsea Ives, picked to be a London Olympics "ambassador" tasked with welcoming guests to the capital during next year's Games.
She was allegedly captured on video hurling bricks at a police car and was reported to police by her parents after they spotted her on news footage.
Will communities change after UK riots?
Behind the scenes of UK riot reporting
The defining image of London riots
Who are the angry youth behind UK riots?They have issued closed-circuit video footage showing a looter suspected of carrying out the assault and appealed to the public to identify him.
Londoners can expect the "surge" of 16,000 police officers deployed since Tuesday to remain on the city's streets through the weekend, Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday.
The huge deployment comes against a backdrop of questions over Britain's policing approach, and as lawmakers raise the prospect that new powers could be granted to police to tackle future unrest.
Cameron told lawmakers at an emergency session of Parliament Thursday that police in London had waited too long to begin arresting rioters after unrest broke out Saturday."What became increasingly clear earlier this week was that there were simply far too few police deployed onto the streets. And the tactics they were using weren't working," he said. "Police chiefs have been frank with me about why this happened. Initially the police treated the situation too much as a public order issue -- rather than essentially one of crime."
This week's apparently orchestrated looting -- which occurred in different places at the same time -- presented "a new and unique challenge," but police had ultimately changed their approach, he told lawmakers.
They are now being given more tools to tackle disorder, Cameron said, with "every contingency" being looked at, including greater powers to ask suspected troublemakers to remove their masks and measures to prevent troublemakers using social media to coordinate disorder.
The violence first broke out in north London's Tottenham neighborhood after a protest over the death of a local man, Mark Duggan, who Cameron said was shot by police.
Cameron: Riots about crime
Racial tension amidst UK riots
Will naming and shaming looters work?
Londoners asked to identify lootersCameron promised a thorough inquiry into Duggan's death, but said it did not justify the ensuing violence.
What started as a peaceful demonstration Saturday in front of the police department by community members and Duggan's relatives and friends was "used as an excuse by opportunist thugs in gangs, first in Tottenham itself, then across London, and then in other cities," he said. "It is completely wrong to say there is any justifiable causal link."
In London, police Friday reported 1,051 riot-related arrests, with 591 people charged. Police in West Midlands reported 445 arrests since Monday evening and Greater Manchester Police listed 176.
London's Metropolitan Police said three of the latest suspects to be charged included a 19-year-old man who is believed to have posted a picture on Twitter posing with a haul of suspected stolen goods, and two teenage girls charged with counts including robbery, attempted robbery and possession of a knife.
Cameron said those convicted can expect to go to jail."Keeping people safe is the first duty of government," he said. "The whole country has been shocked by the most appalling scenes of people looting, violence, vandalizing and thieving."It is criminality pure and simple. And there is absolutely no excuse for it." But much damage has been done, with retailers losing more than £100 million ($161 million) over four nights of looting and violence, an analysis found.
Cameron promised government help for families and businesses whose properties have been damaged. They will receive tax breaks and grants, including a new £20 million ($32 million) fund to help affected retailers get back in business, he said. Courts in London and elsewhere have been holding late-night sessions to process those who have been arrested; some people have been jailed.
Police said residents could help them by identifying photographs of looting suspects. The Metropolitan Police and other police forces posted surveillance photos online. Detectives, investigating Wednesday morning's hit-and-run incident in Birmingham in which three young men were killed, arrested on Thursday three more males on suspicion of murder. They are ages 16, 17 and 26. A 32-year-old man who had been arrested Wednesday has been released on bail. The victims, ages 31, 30 and 20, were leaving prayers at 1 a.m. and returning to a gas station they had been guarding to protect it from possible looters when the incident occurred, witnesses said.
The violence comes against a backdrop of austerity measures and budget cuts. But Cameron, community leaders and police have repeatedly pointed to a criminal, rather than political, motivation for the looting.
Analysts say a mix of economic and social tensions has been at play in the unrest, with deprivation a key factor. Those seen taking part in rioting and looting have been from diverse ethnic backgrounds and span a wide range of ages, and many are young.
CNN's Laura Smith-Spark, Carol Jordan, Ed Payne, David Wilkinson, Anna Stewart and Bharati Naik contributed to this report.
Reference: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/08/12/uk.riots/index.html
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