Exclusive: Chief constable backs swift court action against rioters

A YORKSHIRE chief constable who led the policing response to the riots has backed the decision of the courts to deliver swift justice to the perpetrators of the wanton violence that shocked the nation.

Tim Hollis, the head of Humberside Police, spoke out as prison chiefs accused magistrates of losing all sense of proportion with “a sentencing frenzy” and a seven-fold increase in suspects placed on remand until they are punished.

Mr Hollis, who was drafted in to help coordinate police resources at the height of the riots, {http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/debate/columnists/tim_hollis_a_glimpse_of_anarchy_reminds_us_of_importance_of_a_strong_community_1_3724324,writes in today’s Yorkshire Post}: “We witnessed an unusual but very welcome degree of co-operation and support from our partners in the criminal justice system.

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“We really did see rapid and robust justice with offenders being arrested, charged, put before the courts and sentenced in days. This undoubtedly contributed to taking the momentum out of the disorder – but for the police and public it did raise the question as to why cases take so long to get to court in the normal course of events.”

Mr Hollis also questioned “why imprisonment is not used more effectively at an early stage for those who make the lives of the law-abiding a misery on a more routine basis”.

His comments came as Eoin McLennan-Murray, president of the Prison Governors Association, said magistrates were “appealing to the populist mentality, and that’s not the best basis on which to sentence people. The norms of sentencing are being ignored”. He said this was putting pressure on prison places, adding: “This kind of speedy across-the-board justice probably means a number of people are dealt with unfairly.”

But Magistrates’ Association chairman John Thornhill said the claims were unfounded. “In a very short period of time far more people – a sevenfold number – were arrested for sevenfold the amount of serious offences. So it would be expected we would have seven-fold sentencing.”