U.K. riotsFour days of rioting strains U.K. legal system
The ongoing unrest in the United Kingdom has begun to strain the country’s criminal justice and law enforcement system; with police arresting hundreds of people over the last few days, local judges have had trouble keeping up with the case load and facilities have quickly become overcrowded
Four days of rioting leads to hundreds of arrests // Source: thenews.com.pk
The ongoing unrest in the United Kingdom has begun to strain the country’s criminal justice and law enforcement system.
Four nights of rioting and looting have resulted in more than 1,100 arrests in cities across the United Kingdom including London, Bristol, Manchester, and Nottingham.
With police arresting hundreds of people over the last few days, local judges have had trouble keeping up with the case load and facilities have quickly become overcrowded. On Tuesday at Highbury magistrates court in north London, two district judges worked late into the night hearing dozens of cases. According to one lawyer roughly one hundred defendants appeared late Tuesday evening, and at one point three custody vans had lined up outside because there was no more room in the court’s holding facilities.
To handle the additional case load, Nazir Afzal, the chief crown prosecutor in northwest England, said the courts were placing top priority on arrests stemming from the riots.
“Prosecutors have been working with police to prepare for just such an outcome, and charging those who committed crimes during the disorder last night is our top priority,” Afzal said. “We have arranged for increased capacity in the courts to deal with these cases and will seek remands in custody wherever appropriate.
“We are also advising on the charging of those caught in possession of property that was stolen. Anyone who handles stolen property is just as guilty of an offence as those who steal in the first place,” he added.
With pockets of unrest continuing, police have continued to make large numbers of arrests.
On Tuesday, in Nottingham a police station and a college were firebombed leading to ninety arrests, while in southern Liverpool police arrested thirty-five people for causing disorder and damage. In London, despite the presence of 16,000 police officers, some rioting occurred and Metropolitan police arrested eighty-one people.
Garry Shewan, the assistant chief constable of the Greater Manchester police warned rioters that the police would catch and prosecute them.
“Hundreds and hundreds of people, we have your image, we have your face, we have your acts of wanton criminality on film,” Shewan said. “We are coming for you from today, and no matter how long it takes we will arrest those people responsible.”
To help quell the unrest, Prime Minister David Cameron has authorized British police to use any tactics necessary including the deployment of water cannons. The Prime Minister added that he expects any individuals convicted of violent disorder to go to prison.
