An 11-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with this summer’s riots, as police vowed to continue catching people suspected of being involved despite dwindling prison places.
The boy was one of 14 people, including a mother and son, held in dawn raids across Teesside over disorder in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool.
At least three 11-year-olds are among the hundreds of people who have been arrested by police in England and Northern Ireland since violence erupted on 30 July.
Supt Marc Anderson, of Cleveland police, said on Wednesday that he had never “seen anything like” the unrest in Middlesbrough in his 30 years of service. The force has now arrested 110 people in connection with the two riots.
After the raids, DCI Sarah Robinson said: “The message is: you haven’t got away with it. We can identify you and we will arrest you, you will be arrested and you will be put before the courts. Behind every crime there is a victim and some of the stories that we have been told have been really harrowing.”
In West Yorkshire, a man who tried to instigate a riot in Huddersfield was jailed for nine months.
Harvey Gardner, 20, pleaded guilty to encouraging violent disorder through social media posts urging people to gather at the town’s railway station and promising “it’s not going to be peaceful”.
His solicitor told Leeds crown court he had “jumped on the bandwagon” and was “deeply regretful” of his online posts. The court heard that the proposed disorder on 5 August did not materialise but police and local businesses were forced to prepare for it.
Gardner’s “widely shared” posts came against the backdrop of “widespread violent disorder” across the UK. The court heard that he tried to post the same message on a Facebook group called Huddersfield Community but the moderator stopped him.
When Gardner, who has no previous convictions, was arrested, he said he had “the right to protest”, it was said.
The judge, Guy Kearl KC, said: “There can be no doubt you were inciting others to engage in violent disorder, otherwise why post the comments. No violent incident took place but the effect of your posts was that local businesses and police had to cater for disorder. Your intention was to instigate and incite an incident involving serious violence.”
Separately, a 15-year-old boy was warned he may be jailed after admitting throwing a glass bottle and stealing a police officer’s hat during disorder in Bolton.
The teenager, who has no previous convictions, was told by the judge that the court only had the power to sentence him to custody in a young offender institution or make a referral order, which would mean the boy must comply with a rehabilitation regime. The teenager, from the Bolton area, will be sentenced on 1 October.
As many as 123 people had been jailed for their part in the disorder as of last Wednesday, according to Ministry of Justice figures, and more than 400 people were on remand in custody awaiting sentencing.
The crackdown, ordered by Keir Starmer, has placed further pressure on prisons, with fewer than 100 cell spaces left in men’s prisons in England and Wales.
