Arrests After Riots

Arrests have begun in the light of looting and theft from city shops

By Ben Aulakh

Police in Birmingham and the West Midlands have started the long process of making arrests in the wake of the recent riots.

In an unprecedented move, Solihull Magistrates Court took the step of sitting all night to help fast track those already in custody for disorder related offences.

A total of 24 prisoners were processed, including 18 adults and six juveniles.

Chief Superintendent Phil Kay said, “This is a first for the West Midlands and has given us the opportunity to put before the courts the prisoners involved in the disorder in a really timely manner, which helps speed up the judicial process.”

The majority of those dealt with were charged with burglary at shop premises and violent disorder and arson.

Five were sent straight to prison and one juvenile has been bailed with strict conditions including an electronic curfew, reporting daily to police and not to enter any retail premises.

There were also 31 further arrests across the West Midlands by uniformed officers between 4pm on Tuesday and 1am on Wednesday morning.

These were for a range of offences including going equipped, possession of an offensive weapon, assault and burglary.

Many have been charged with theft.

Of those arrested, three have been charged, 14 are currently in custody helping with enquiries, and the remainder have been bailed while police make further enquiries.

Several thousand pounds worth of sportswear and designer clothing, electrical items and £14,000 worth of mobile phones, which police believe to be stolen, have also been recovered from some of the addresses. 

DCI Shaun Edwards from Force CID said, “We have carried out a number of warrants across the region as part of the operation to identify offenders and recover any stolen property.

"The warrants are as a result of intelligence, CCTV images being identified and the public coming forward with information about suspects and where stolen property can be found.

“We would encourage people to continue to provide information and help us bring those responsible to justice."

Detectives are also keen to hear from members of the public who may have recorded footage of the disorder on CCTV cameras or mobile phones; they are asking people to email the footage directly to tellus@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk


Photographs by Dean Gilbert.