Police forces were unprepared for the violence across the country in midsummer 2024 after the Southport murders, the worst since 2011, the Home Affairs Committee has found in a report after an inquiry.
Chair of the committee, Dame Karen Bradley said: โPolice officers on the ground showed tremendous courage and fortitude in responding to scenes of deplorable violence. But some police forces could have better anticipated the risk of disorder and taken a more proactive and preventative approach.
โLessons must be learned from how the whole criminal justice system worked together. It will need to ensure that police forces can improve how they deal with regular policing work as well as supporting them to develop capacity to respond to crises. The Governmentโs plans for police reform will be especially important for making sure national policing structures support forces effectively in emergencies.
โIt is a grim reality that bad actors sought to exploit the unspeakable tragedy that unfolded in Southport. By failing to disclose information to the public, false claims filled the gap and flourished online, further undermining confidence in the police and public authorities. The criminal justice system will need to ensure its approach to communication is fit for the social media age.
โThere is a difference in how police must deal with violence and how they deal with peaceful protests. This needs to recognised by commentators who all too readily spread claims of โtwo tier policingโ. Organised disorder is rightly met with a robust response; any implied equivalence with planned non-violent protests is simply wrong.โ
The report stated that ‘the disorder and subsequent investigations have had a knock-on impact on other areas of policing, including neighbourhood policing’. Despite the best efforts of policing leaders, ‘shortcomings in national policing structures inhibited the response to the disorder and national mobilisation came too late’, the MPs found. Hence the committee welcomed the Governmentโs commitment to what the report called ‘reforming the national policing landscape’. National policing should include ‘enhanced capacity to monitor and respond to social media at the national level’, as online discourse about the Southport murderer prompted rioting in that town and elsewhere, such as outside hotels housing asylum seekers.
Comments
For the rank and file police body the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), Acting Deputy National Chair Brian Booth said: “We cannot simply recruit our way out of a retention crisis. The Government must listen to those on the ground and act urgently to keep experienced officers in the job. Our members deserve better, and the public deserves a service that is stable, supported and sustainable. The heroism and professionalism shown by officers during the summer disorder was exemplary, and they should be recognised and supported accordingly.”
For the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Emily Spurrell, APCC Chair and Labour PCC for Merseyside, was among those who gave evidence to the MPs. She said: โThe inquiry conducted by Parliamentโs Home Affairs Select Committee and resulting report has rightly highlighted the excellent response from officers on the ground, rejected claims of two-tier policing, and I am pleased to see their bravery and determination in the face of adversity commended.
โHowever, the report also suggested that an earlier, nationally coordinated policing response could have protected more of the public, police officers and property from harm. Ensuring this capability and improved information sharing at a national level must be a priority for all involved in the policing reform agenda.
โI also recognise issues the report raises about declining trust in institutions and the impact of the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media in fuelling the violent disorder. It is vital that the public have trust and confidence in our public services which is why I welcome the commitment of the Crown Prosecution Service to review its social media guidelines to enable policing and its partners to be able to counter false and incendiary claims without fear of compromising ongoing investigations and subsequent trials. It is incumbent on all of us in public life to combat the malicious and dangerous falsehoods that are spread online.
โAs the report acknowledges, the response of the criminal justice system in prosecuting and these crimes was swift and decisive. We now need to ensure that system is able to respond in the same way for all crimes.
โFinally, we were pleased to see funding confirmed by the Home Office to cover the costs of the police response to the disorder, however, there remain significant challenges for some Police Commissioners in relation to riot compensation. The report supports Police and Crime Commissionersโ call not to fund riot compensation claims from their existing policing budgets and I urge the government to release funding to cover costs incurred during the disorder as soon as possible to enable this.โ
