Good morning. Three weeks after the start of the riots that convulsed much of the UK, a clearer picture of the criminal justice system’s response is emerging – and it has a lot to tell us about the rioters themselves, and the ability of the police, the courts and the prisons to deal with unexpected crises.
The cases keep coming. Yesterday, among others, a man pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life for his part in trying to set light to a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham. Another – a former soldier who had carried out peacekeeping duties in Kosovo and Northern Ireland – was sentenced to two-and-a-half years for attacking police officers at the same location. And a third was sentenced to three years for his part in the Southport riot after he attacked a police van’s window with a piece of concrete as an officer sat inside.
