Friday 12 August 2011

England riots: 24-hour criminal justice system after riots


In an unprecedented move courts across the country stayed open through the night to deal with the volume of cases
Several courts in England will stay open 24 hours a day to fast-track those already in custody for looting and disorder-related offences.
Magistrates in London, Manchester and Solihull were processing some of those arrested over riot-related incidents.
An 11-year-old girl and a primary school worker have already appeared in court. One man has been jailed for eight months for stealing clothes.
David Cameron said courts would continue to sit through the night.
The total number of people arrested over the riots stands at more than 1,500.
'Smirked in dock' An 11-year-old girl has appeared in court in Nottingham and admitted damaging windows during a disturbance in the city centre.
A BBC reporter in court said she smirked in the dock as her father asked her to apologise to the district judge.
The girl told the court she realised she was in serious trouble but did not think she would be caught.
The girl, who finished primary school last month, was given a nine-month referral order.
In London, about 900 people have been arrested over violence, disorder and looting in London, and more than 370 have been charged, police said.
Primary school worker Alexis Bailey attempts to shield his face as he leaves court. Primary school worker Alexis Bailey attempts to shield his face as he left court
The figures include two boys aged 17 and a man of 18, who were arrested over an arson attack which destroyed a Sony warehouse in Enfield, north London, on Monday.
A primary school worker is one of those who has already appeared before magistrates in the capital.
Alexis Bailey, 31, appeared at Highbury Magistrates' Court on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to burglary with intent to steal.
Manchester Magistrates' Court operated throughout the night to process convictions and saw more than 110 people brought before it.
A 12-year-old boy pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of wine from a Manchester supermarket during Tuesday night's disturbances.
He was given a nine-month referral order and ordered to pay £50 costs.
Among the first people jailed for their roles in the Manchester riots was a man sentenced to eight months for stealing clothes.

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"Let me give you a piece of worldly advice - get a life, sort yourself out”
Tim Devas District judge
In Solihull, magistrates sat from 19:30 BST until 06:00 BST to fast-track people arrested during the disturbances to answer charges including burglary, arson, theft and violent disorder.
Ch Supt Phil Kay, of West Midlands Police, said working through the night was a first for Solihull.
He said it had given them 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".
Police have made more than 300 arrests since disturbances began in the West Midlands on Monday.
Overnight, 26 defendants, including six juveniles, appeared before magistrates in Solihull.
A total of 20 of those were now in prison having either been sentenced or pending follow-up court appearances, West Midlands Police said.
Merseyside Police has charged 45 people and Greater Manchester Police said 145 people had been arrested and 97 charged.
'Get a life' Craig Cave, 26, of Burrows Avenue, Beeston, appeared at Nottingham Magistrates' Court, and was found guilty of obstructing police in Nottingham. He was fined £60.
Suspect is arrested A suspect is arrested by police in London
District judge Tim Devas told him: "Let me give you a piece of worldly advice.
"Get a life, sort yourself out. Don't you feel ashamed that you are now counted among the hundreds of yobbos arrested and now considered as scum by the public?"
Speaking in general to the court about sentences that were handed down, Judge Devas added: "If there are any criticisms of sentences handed down by the courts, if you want anyone to blame, then go and speak to the government.
"Do not blame the judges or the magistrates who do their jobs professionally and abide by the guidelines set down."
Elsewhere, a man has been arrested on suspicion of robbery over an attack on a Malaysian student who was mugged by apparent Good Samaritans after rioters attacked him in east London.
The attack on Asyraf Haziq, 20, made headlines after it appeared on YouTube.
Three more people have been arrested in connection with the deaths of three men who died while protecting their shop from looters in Birmingham. A 32-year-old man arrested on Wednesday has been bailed.
Violence began in Tottenham on Saturday after the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan.
David Cameron told MPs earlier in the Commons that courts in London, Manchester and the West Midlands would sit through the night for "as long as is necessary", to deal with the high number of people arrested for rioting in England.
He said anyone charged with violent disorder should expect to be remanded in custody.
Mr Cameron said: "We are making technology work for us by capturing the images of perpetrators on CCTV - so even if they have not yet been arrested, their faces are known and they will not escape the law."

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