Forget water cannon but back us on riots pleads police chief

Yorkshire’s most senior police officer today rejects suggestions the Army and “fancy new weapons” like water cannon are needed to keep peace after an “unprecedented national blitzkrieg of lawlessness” on Britain’s streets.

Writing for the Yorkshire Post, Sir Norman Bettison calls for unequivocal public support should rioting continue, declaring that “running lines” of officers must be able to clear the streets without provoking cries of police brutality.

The West Yorkshire Chief Constable believes there has been “diminishing support” for the police in tackling disorder since long before the riots began because individual human rights have been deemed more important than justice for communities.

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His comments come after David Cameron promised he would do “whatever it takes” to ensure order is restored, including giving police the power to order suspected criminals to remove masks.

The number of suspects arrested has risen above 1,700 as investigations continue into major disturbances in cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham.

The violence prompted the Prime Minister to authorise the use of water cannon by police where necessary.

But Sir Norman says practice with the weapon had shown it to be slow, lumbering and “absolutely hopeless” for dealing with the “smash and grab behaviour” shown by rioters in the last week.

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Rubber bullets are already part of the police’s armoury, but he believes they are more suited to keeping distance between officers and crowds than stopping looters running away from smashed shops.

“If the disorder continues,” Sir Norman writes, “you will see more ‘running lines’ of police officers rapidly quelling disorder and clearing an area.

“I wager that more than one person will cry police brutality and overreaction. The question for society in general is whether you want the street cleared or not.

“We do not need the Army, we do not need any fancy new weapons, we just need to hear the unequivocal voice of our public.”

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Britain’s big cities will be heavily policed until at least the weekend, with 16,000 remaining in place in London overnight.

Scotland Yard Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Kavanagh last night admitted the force did not have enough officers on duty to deal with the chaos of Monday.

But he added: “Since making the biggest peacetime deployment of officers we have had, we have filled the cells of London twice, courts are sitting through the nights and we are tracking down those who brought fear and shame to our city.”

In Birmingham, three arrests were made yesterday by police investigating the deaths of Haroon Jahan, 21, and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31 who were hit by a car while trying to protect shops from looters.

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In an emergency Commons debate, Mr Cameron told MPs: “We need to show the world, which has looked on frankly appalled, that the perpetrators of the violence we have seen on our streets are not in any way representative of our country – nor of our young people.

“We need to show them that we will address our broken society, we will restore a stronger sense of morality and responsibility – in every town, in every street and in every estate.”

The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, said keeping the peace was the Government’s first responsibility and police must be “equipped and enabled” to do the job.

Dr Sentamu said it was important to understand the motivation of the rioters.

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“Sadly,” he added, “we have created an individualistic, disposable society, with weakened family and community structures, where the interests of me, myself and I have become paramount. In many ways, we have made a god of self and self-interest.”

Demands for rioters to be stripped of state benefits are likely to be discussed by MPs after an online petition was signed by more than 100,000 people, qualifying it for a Commons debate.