One in five people arrested over 2024 riots have since been reported for domestic abuse | LBC

One in five people arrested over 2024 riots have since been reported for domestic abuse

Share

By Flaminia Luck

One out of every five people arrested for their participation in the 2024 summer 'Southport' riots has since been reported to the police for domestic abuse, it has been revealed.

Listen to this article

Disorder erupted across a number of towns and cities in the UK following the murder of three young girls - Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7 and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, 9, at a dance class in Merseyside.

During the riots, mosques, community centres and libraries were attacked as well as hotels housing asylum seekers.

Now, police data obtained through Freedom of Information requests shows that 21% of the 949 people arrested in connection with the violent disorder have since been reported for offences linked to intimate partner violence since August 2024, reported the Guardian.

Among those arrested by Cumbria Police, the proportion was significantly higher, at a whopping 54%.

The offences for which alleged rioters have subsequently been reported include common assault, controlling or coercive behaviour, breaches of domestic violence protection notices and injunctions, threats to kill, actual bodily harm, and criminal damage.

It was previously revealed that two in five of those arrested over the riots had been the subject of a domestic abuse report before their involvement in the disorder.

Appeals to protect women and children, alongside anti-migrant rhetoric, have been a recurring theme at these rallies.

The Guardian said it obtained its data through FOI requests sent to 21 police forces covering the 27 towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland where the 2024 riots took place.

Those 27 locations were identified as sites of significant disorder in a House of Commons briefing published in September 2024. Between 30 July and 7 August 2024, an estimated 29 anti-immigration demonstrations and riots took place.

In some areas, thousands of people took part in the unrest, with many incidents involving extensive property damage.

In Hull, 116 people were arrested. Humberside Police said 33 of them — just under three in 10 — have since been reported for domestic abuse.

In Rotherham, where hundreds of people attacked and set fire to an asylum hotel, 171 arrests were made. South Yorkshire Police said 40 of those arrested have since been reported for domestic abuse.

In Bristol, Avon and Somerset Police said that 12 of the 60 people arrested have since been the subject of reports linked to domestic abuse offences.

Four forces, including Merseyside Police and Greater Manchester Police, said they were unable to provide information on domestic abuse reports within FoI cost limits.

Merseyside Police made 221 arrests after several days of rioting in Southport and Liverpool.

Keenan Sanders, 22, was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon and criminal damage during the disorder in Manchester.

After being released under investigation, Sanders subjected his partner to coercive and controlling behaviour and carried out a series of violent attacks, including using a knife, strangling her, pushing her into oncoming traffic and threatening to cripple her.

Sentencing Sanders to 10 years in prison, the judge described his actions as “prolonged, persistent and cruel, at times bordering on sadistic”.

Speaking in the aftermath of the protests, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that rioters could expect to be held on remand and rapidly brought before the courts. Former home secretary Yvette Cooper also promised that participants would face “swift justice”.

Data from the National Police Chiefs’ Council shows that half of those arrested have now been charged.

The Crown Prosecution Service said 43% have been convicted of offences committed during the violent disorder. In one police force area, the figure was as low as 8%.

Cumbria Police said 14 of the 26 people arrested have since been reported for domestic abuse offences. Only four of those arrested have gone on to be convicted of any offences linked to the riots.

In Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, Cleveland Police made 182 arrests, with 38 of those individuals later becoming the subject of a domestic abuse report.

In the month after the riots in the two towns, five people were reported for domestic abuse offences, including malicious communications, threats to destroy property and assault.

National domestic abuse helpline - 0808 2000 247