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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
James Tapper and Shanti Das

Video doorbells, CCTV, facial recognition: how the police tracked UK rioters

The prime minister, Keir Starmer, tours Lambeth police headquarters in London accompanied by Met commissioner Mark Rowley, left, and other senior officers
Keir Starmer tours Lambeth police HQ in London with Met commissioner Mark Rowley, left, and other officers. Starmer said forces in England ‘have to stay on high alert going into this weekend’. Photograph: Toby Melville/AFP/Getty Images

The hunt to find the rioters and the people who incited them began the moment the first brick was thrown. But the efforts to catch them will last weeks or months, and involve super-recognisers, specialist software, video doorbells and, in a few cases, criminal stupidity.

A dizzying number of newly convicted rioters and online agitators were this weekend waking up in a prison cell on the first day of their sentence. Of the more than 700 arrests made so far, about 300 people had been charged by Friday night, with more arrests and court appearances on Saturday.

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