Soft Sentences For Rioters?
12th August 2011
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The courts have been working overnight in order to deal with the amount of arrests made following the recent riots. Sentences given to the rioters are slowly being filtered through journalists in the Highbury Magistrates Court who have been given permission to tweet through the proceedings.
The home secretary Theresa May in her statement following the riots said; “"Let me be absolutely clear: Those responsible for this violence and looting will be made to face the consequences of their actions.”
But as the media are finding out how severely those involved are being punished the MET chiefs have accused the courts of letting down the public with ‘soft sentences’.
Deputy assistant commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said;
“Some of us have been disappointed by some of the early sentences we have seen, especially those officers who have been on the front line facing the violence and disorder.”
Here are some granted so far;
- 2 days in cells for 18 year old David Attoh whole stole 2 burberry t-shirts and admitted theft.
- 10 weeks for Imran Khan, 23, who attacked a police officer in Birmingham on Tuesday.
- 20 weeks for Bernard Moore, 45, who was arrested for trying to gouge out a policeman's eyes during riots in Manchester.
- 22 weeks for James Speirs, 22, for handling stolen goods – namely a chainsaw and a strimmer from Argos.
- 4 months for Aaron Grimmer a 22-year-old from Eccles who grinned as he told officers 'I'm here looting' and ‘scraped a police officer along the floor’ as he tried to escape his grip, causing minor injuries.
- 6 months for Ryan Kelly, 20, after he admitted looting £3,500 worth of cigarettes from a Birmingham newsagent.
- 8 months for Owen Flanagan, 28, who stole £175 worth of clothes others had looted.
It’s worth comparing these to the case of Charlie Gilmour – the 21 year old son of Pink Floyd guitarist, who was jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to violent disorder at last December’s tuition fee protests. A ruling double the length of any of the above rioters who were accused of theft and causing police officers bodily harm.
He received the sentence for;
-starting a fire with paper,
-kicking at a window of the Oxford Street’s flagship Topshop store,
-and carrying the leg of a mannequin.
The home secretary Theresa May in her statement following the riots said; “"Let me be absolutely clear: Those responsible for this violence and looting will be made to face the consequences of their actions.”
But as the media are finding out how severely those involved are being punished the MET chiefs have accused the courts of letting down the public with ‘soft sentences’.
Deputy assistant commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said;
“Some of us have been disappointed by some of the early sentences we have seen, especially those officers who have been on the front line facing the violence and disorder.”
Here are some granted so far;
- 2 days in cells for 18 year old David Attoh whole stole 2 burberry t-shirts and admitted theft.
- 10 weeks for Imran Khan, 23, who attacked a police officer in Birmingham on Tuesday.
- 20 weeks for Bernard Moore, 45, who was arrested for trying to gouge out a policeman's eyes during riots in Manchester.
- 22 weeks for James Speirs, 22, for handling stolen goods – namely a chainsaw and a strimmer from Argos.
- 4 months for Aaron Grimmer a 22-year-old from Eccles who grinned as he told officers 'I'm here looting' and ‘scraped a police officer along the floor’ as he tried to escape his grip, causing minor injuries.
- 6 months for Ryan Kelly, 20, after he admitted looting £3,500 worth of cigarettes from a Birmingham newsagent.
- 8 months for Owen Flanagan, 28, who stole £175 worth of clothes others had looted.
It’s worth comparing these to the case of Charlie Gilmour – the 21 year old son of Pink Floyd guitarist, who was jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to violent disorder at last December’s tuition fee protests. A ruling double the length of any of the above rioters who were accused of theft and causing police officers bodily harm.
He received the sentence for;
-starting a fire with paper,
-kicking at a window of the Oxford Street’s flagship Topshop store,
-and carrying the leg of a mannequin.
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