UK to Deploy Military, Grant New Police Power, Restrict Social Networking, and Use Facial Recognition to Hunt Rioters and Looters

London Police Raiding Houses Over UK Riots

August 11, 2011

AP - Police in London raided houses to round up more rioting suspects Thursday as Britain's big cities remained largely quiet after four days of rioting and looting that drew thousands of police officers onto the streets.

Prime Minister David Cameron issued a stern warning that order would be restored by whatever means necessary.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said the raids to round up suspects began overnight, and more than 100 warrants would be executed. Police have already arrested almost 900 people in London since trouble began on Saturday, and 371 have been charged.

Hugh Orde, head of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said there would be "hundreds more people in custody" by the end of the day.

Tensions remained high even in the absence of any major incidents, and Cameron has recalled Parliament from its summer recess for an emergency debate on the riots later in the day. He will face questions about what caused the riots, and pressure to reconsider planned police budget cuts, which critics claim will strain an already overstretched force.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the "sociological debate" about the origins of the violence was for the future.

"Right now it's important that people are reassured that their streets are made safe, their homes are made safe and society is allowed to move on," Clegg told BBC radio.

Calm prevailed in London overnight, with a highly visible police presence watching over the capital. The London police said it would keep up the huge operation — involving 16,000 officers — for at least one more night.

There was a brief outbreak of trouble in Eltham, southeast London, where a group of largely white and middle-aged men who claimed to be defending their neighborhood pelted police with rocks and bottles. Police said the incident had been "dealt with" and a group was dispersed.

There were chaotic scenes at courthouses, several of which sat through the night to process scores of alleged looters and vandals, including an 11-year-old boy. The defendants included Natasha Reid, a 24-year-old university graduate who admitted stealing a TV from a looted electronics store in north London. Her lawyer said she had turned herself in because she could not sleep because of guilt.

Also due to appear in court were several people charged with using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to incite violence.

Other cities where looters had rampaged earlier this week also came through the night largely unscathed, though for the first time minor disturbances were reported in Wales.

Even as Cameron promised Wednesday not to let a "culture of fear" take hold, tensions flared in Birmingham, where a murder probe was opened after three men were killed in a hit-and-run incident as they took to the streets to defend shops from looting.

Chris Sims, chief constable of West Midlands Police, said a man had been arrested on suspicion of murder. Police on Thursday were given more time to question him.

"We needed a fightback and a fightback is under way," Cameron said in a somber televised statement outside his Downing Street office after a meeting of the government's crisis committee.

He said "nothing is off the table" — including water cannons, commonly used in Northern Ireland but never deployed in mainland Britain. Senior police officers, however, indicated they had no plans to use water cannons.

The violence has revived debate about the Conservative-led government's austerity measures, which will slash 80 billion pounds ($130 billion) from public spending by 2015 to reduce the country's swollen budget deficit.

Cameron's government has slashed police budgets as part of the cuts. A report last month said the cuts will mean 16,000 fewer police officers by 2015. London Mayor Boris Johnson — like Cameron, a Conservative — broke with the government to say such cuts are wrong.

"That case was always pretty frail and it has been substantially weakened," he told BBC radio. "This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers."

Scenes of ransacked stores, torched cars and blackened buildings have frightened and outraged Britons just a year before their country is to host next summer's Olympic Games, bringing demands for a tougher response from law enforcement.

Britain's riots began Saturday when an initially peaceful protest over a police shooting in London's Tottenham neighborhood turned violent. That clash has morphed into general lawlessness in London and several other cities that police have struggled to halt.

While the rioters have run off with goods every teen wants — new sneakers, bikes, electronics and leather goods — they also have torched stores apparently just to see something burn. They were left virtually unchallenged in several neighborhoods, and when police did arrive they often were able to flee quickly and regroup.

UK Police to Get More Power to Deal with Rioters; Military Could Be Deployed

August 11, 2011

AP - Britain will crack down on gangs and study a wide range of measures - including deployment of the army and limiting the use of social media sites - if this week's riots are repeated, Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday.

In an unusual step, he also plans to consult an American law enforcement veteran on ways to counter criminal gangs.

Mr Cameron was speaking to lawmakers who were summoned back from their summer vacations for an emergency session of Parliament. He said the government will give the police powers to demand that people remove face coverings after many looters who ransacked shops this week wore masks to avoid being identified.

"To the lawless minority, the criminals who've taken what they can get, I say this: We will track you down, we will find you, we will charge you, we will punish you. You will pay for what you have done," he said.

Mr Cameron said he would not rule out calling in army support - an extraordinary event in Britain - if there were more disturbances.

The government, the police and intelligence services were also looking at whether there should be limits on the use of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook or services like BlackBerry Messenger to spread disorder.

"Police were facing a new circumstance where rioters were using the BlackBerry Messenger service, a closed network", to organise riots, he said. "We've got to examine that and work out how to get ahead of them."

Mr Cameron also pledged action against street gangs, saying there was evidence they had coordinated attacks on the police and looting. The government will make combatting them a national priority, drawing on the success of cities such as Boston in the United States.

As to the causes of the outbreak of violence, Mr Cameron blamed the social breakdown in Britain.

"This is not about poverty, it's about culture - a culture that glorifies violence, shows disrespect to authority, and says everything about rights but nothing about responsibilities," he said.

He promised to compensate people whose property was damaged by rioters, even if they were uninsured.

UK Using Facial Recognition to Hunt Rioters; Cameron Promises 'Vigorous and Wide-ranging Measures' to Restore Order and Prevent Riots Erupting Again — Including Taking Gang-fighting Tips from American Cities and Possibly Rounding Up Demonstrators and Imprisoning Them in Sports Stadiums Like the U.S. Did in 1971

The number of people arrested in London rose to 922 since trouble began on Saturday, with 401 suspects charged. The huge number drew notice. Peter Tapsell, a veteran Conservative Party lawmaker, called on Cameron to draw inspiration from the response of U.S. authorities to anti-Vietnam protests in the 1970s. Tapsell said he recalled law enforcement in Washington, D.C., rounding up demonstrators and imprisoning them in a sports stadium. He did not elaborate, but authorities in 1971 set up an emergency detention center next to Washington's RFK stadium to hold demonstrators after the largest mass arrest in U.S. history. Tapsell asked Cameron if Britain's Wembley Stadium, the country's showpiece soccer arena could be used. Cameron insisted the stadium would be used only for "great sporting events," not the detention of rioters.

August 11, 2011

CBS/AP - In the battle to bring calm to the British streets, authorities are playing both sides of technology - employing facial recognition software to hunt suspects while at the same time considering restrictions on social media the government claims has been used as an organizing tool for rioters.

Officers are feeding photographs of suspects through Scotland Yard's newly updated face-matching program, which has been under consideration for London's 2012 Games.

A law enforcement official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said that facial recognition is one of many tools police are using to hunt suspects still at large. Other techniques include posting headshots to photo-sharing site Flickr and old-fashioned public appeals.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard confirmed Thursday that facial recognition technology was at his force's disposal.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron said the government, police and intelligence services were looking at whether there should be limits on the use of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook or services like BlackBerry Messenger to spread disorder.

Government officials said they were discussing with spy agencies and communications companies whether messaging services could be disabled in specific areas, or at specific times.

Authorities are considering "whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality," Cameron said.

"Police were facing a new circumstance where rioters were using the BlackBerry Messenger service, a closed network," to organize riots, he said. "We've got to examine that and work out how to get ahead of them."

Cameron promised vigorous and wide-ranging measures to restore order and prevent riots erupting again on Britain's streets — including also taking gang-fighting tips from American cities.

Cameron told lawmakers there would be no "culture of fear" on Britain's streets, as police raided houses to round up more suspects from four days of rioting and looting in London and other English cities. He said the government was "acting decisively" to restore order after the riots, which shocked the country and the world.

Cameron said authorities were considering other new powers, including allowing police to order thugs to remove masks or hoods and evicting troublemakers from subsidized.

"We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets," Cameron said. "We will not let a violent few beat us."

Lawmakers were summoned back from their summer vacations for an emergency session of Parliament in the riots as government and police worked to regain control, both on the streets and in the court of public opinion. Calm prevailed in London overnight, with a highly visible police presence watching over the capital, but tensions remained high across the country.

Cameron promised tough measures to stop further violence and said "nothing should be off the table," including water cannons and plastic bullets. He said riot-hit businesses would receive help to get back on their feet, and promised to look to the United States for help in fighting the street gangs he blamed for helping spark Britain's riots.

Cameron told lawmakers that he would look to cities like Boston for inspiration, and mentioned former Los Angeles and New York Police Chief Bill Bratton as a person who could help offer advice. He said he wanted to look at cities including Boston and Glasgow that had fought gangs "by engaging the police, the voluntary sector and local government."

"I also believe we should be looking beyond our shores to learn the lessons from others who have faced similar problems," Cameron said.

Afterward, a chastened Baker said it had been the toughest community meeting of his life. In quiet one-to-one conversations, he offered his cell phone number to local residents and pleaded for them to find eyewitnesses.

Cameron said that, in the future, police would be able to order people to remove masks, hoods or other face coverings when they suspect them of concealing their identity to carry out a crime. Currently, officers must seek approval from a senior officer. A program that can ban gang members from meeting together, loitering in certain places, or displaying gang insignia will also be extended, he said.

Meanwhile the number of people arrested in London rose to 922 since trouble began on Saturday, with 401 suspects charged. The huge number drew notice. Peter Tapsell, a veteran Conservative Party lawmaker, called on Cameron to draw inspiration from the response of U.S. authorities to anti-Vietnam protests in the 1970s.

Tapsell said he recalled law enforcement in Washington, D.C., rounding up demonstrators and imprisoning them in a sports stadium. He did not elaborate, but authorities in 1971 set up an emergency detention center next to Washington's RFK stadium to hold demonstrators after the largest mass arrest in U.S. history.

Tapsell asked Cameron if Britain's Wembley Stadium, the country's showpiece soccer arena could be used. Cameron insisted the stadium would be used only for "great sporting events," not the detention of rioters.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said raids to round up suspects began overnight, and more than 100 warrants would be executed. Hugh Orde, head of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said there would be "hundreds more people in custody" by the end of the day.

London was largely calm overnight, with thousands of extra officers on the streets. The London force said it would keep up the huge operation — involving 16,000 officers — for at least one more night.

Overnight, a deployment of 1,000 police and heavy rains discouraged rioters from taking to the streets for a third night. A courthouse stayed open all night to prosecute 26 people accused of burglary, arson and riotous behavior. Police said they had arrested 330 people over the past four nights, including a 14-year-old girl who was brought to a police station by an uncle who suspected her of wearing stolen clothes.

Scenes of ransacked stores, torched cars and blackened buildings have frightened and outraged Britons just a year before their country is to host next summer's Olympic Games, bringing demands for a tougher response from law enforcement and calls for the government to scrap plans to cut police budgets.

Britain's riots began Saturday when an initially peaceful protest over a police shooting turned violent. That clash has morphed into general lawlessness that police struggled to halt.

While the rioters have run off with goods every teen wants — new sneakers, bikes, electronics and leather goods — they also have torched stores apparently just to see something burn. They were left virtually unchallenged in several neighborhoods, and when police did arrive they often were able to flee quickly and regroup.

There were chaotic scenes Thursday at courthouses, several of which sat through the night to process scores of alleged looters and vandals, including an 11-year-old boy. The defendants included Natasha Reid, a 24-year-old university graduate who admitted stealing a TV from a looted electronics store in north London. Her lawyer said she had turned herself in because she could not sleep because of guilt.

Also due to appear in court were several people charged with using Twitter and Facebook to incite violence.

UK Prime Minister Proposes Banning Suspected Rioters from Social Media

August 11, 2011

Mashable - In light of last weekend’s riots in London, UK Prime Minister David Cameron is considering banning individuals from social media if they are suspected of plotting criminal activity.

Soon after the riots subsided, it became clear that BlackBerry Messenger played an instrumental role in how the rioters organized themselves. UK authorities also believe that Twitter and Facebook played a role as well.

In a statement to parliament on Thursday morning, Cameron said:

“Mr. Speaker, everyone watching these horrific actions will be stuck by how they were organized via social media. Free flow of information can be used for good, but it can also be used for ill. And when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them. So we are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality.”

Looking to prevent future catastrophes that could be stirred by social media, the government will reach out directly to the social media services believed to help catalyze the riots to discuss options for moving forward.

Cameron told the press after his statement that Home Secretary Theresa May will hold meetings with Facebook, Twitter and Research In Motion within weeks to discuss their responsibilities in the prevention of future incidents, The Guardian reported.

Banning individuals from social media seems like a difficult task, and the first question to answer is whether it is possible and feasible. Beyond that, is it legal to ban suspects who haven’t committed a crime?

Should the UK government be allowed to ban individuals from social media if they are thought to be planning criminal activities?