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MORE than anyone, the officers of West Yorkshire Police bore the fury of the rioters that night.

The missiles that rained down on exhausted lines of police for hours on end left 326 wounded with severe burns, cuts and broken bones. Several police horses were also stabbed as they battled to contain the swollen ranks of young men.

The aftermath of the violence and criticisms that followed prompted a decade of soul-searching as much in West Yorkshire Police as in the communities which saw their streets turned into a battleground.

From offices in the gleaming new Trafalgar House station on Nelson Street, officially opened by the Queen in 2007, police chiefs are quick to say the force has now turned a page. But in the corridors outside, the cloud cast by the riots still looms heavy.

Detective Chief Superintendent Max McLean feels this complex legacy more than most. He was present on the night and led the operation to track down the rioters, charging 300 people in what is still the most successful major disorder prosecution in Britain.

But Det Chief Supt McLean, who retired in 2010 as West Yorkshire Police’s most senior murder detective after a career spanning 30 years, says his enduring memory is coming home the morning after the violence.

“In a sense it was a completely pointless riot,” he says. “There was no question that the police in Bradford and the community wanted the same thing. It was very serious for the force and very traumatic as well. I live in Bradford, my wife is Bradfordian and our children went to school in Bradford at that time.

“When I got home after the night of the riot at 9am on Sunday morning, I remember coming in and telling my family what had happened and my wife shedding a tear. That is a stronger memory for me than a lot of the investigation.”

Operation Wheel, which saw detectives scrutinise 120 hours of footage of the riots, led to 297 arrests, 187 people charged with rioting, 45 charges of violent disorder and 200 jail sentences totalling 604 years.

A police poster campaign formed a major part of the investigation, which prompted a huge response from the Asian community. Many of those involved handed themselves in, thinking their crimes would be seen in the context of provocation from the far right.

But in court, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Stephen Gullick, imposed harsh sentences – an average of four years per rioter. A number of families appealed in the High Court in 2003 claiming they were excessively harsh. But their appeals were quashed by judges – although four of the 15 contested jail terms were reduced. A decade on, and a sense of injustice still simmers, particularly as a smaller-scale disturbance two days after the riot on the city’s predominantly white Ravenscliffe estate resulted in lesser charges of violent disorder and sentences of between one and three years.

“In my mind, there is no question whatsoever that the strong response of the criminal justice system to the 2001 riots has helped create an atmosphere over the last 10 years where such serious disorder has not been repeated,” says Mr McLean.

“It set down a marker that if you participate in serious violent disorder, or a riot, then regardless of your personal contribution you will be prosecuted in the context of the overall riot.

“The evidence was overwhelming and there was such a high level of co-operation in identifying offenders in the community. I think people were embarrassed and felt a sense of shame about what had happened.

“We had a situation where mothers were saying the people in the photograph were their sons. We arrested every single suspect that we set out to find. But it was never a success that can be celebrated.

“While Judge Gullick brought us all back to court for a commendation in March 2008, it never felt like a success. Nobody won. A lot of young people went to prison and Bradford suffered a huge damage to its reputation.”

West Yorkshire Police too did not emerge unscathed from the events of July 7, 2001. The force was criticised for a lack of understanding in the Asian community and for heavy-handed tactics, including alleged kettling of peaceful protesters earlier on in the day in Centenary Square, which led to a build-up in the tension. Accusations of poor tactics and communication among officers on the day were also levelled at the force.

Inspector Martin Baines, community and race relations officer for Bradford who retired in 2006 after a 32-year career, remembers the fall-out from the riots keenly, from daily meetings held at the Alhambra Theatre often attended by up to 300 residents at a time. He, like many still in the force, points to the successful policing of last year’s EDL protest as a sign of the progress which has been made.

“Between 1996 and 2001 Bradford was in a difficult period,” he says. “There were tensions as a result of what had taken place in 1995. There was an atmosphere of unpredictability and a lot of difficult social issues beyond policing.

“The 2001 riots didn’t take us by surprise. We knew there would be problems, we spent an awful lot of time trying to pressure the organisers of the demonstration not to have it and working with the local community.

“The difficulty was we didn’t anticipate the extent of the violence. Nobody could have done that.

“Once the disorder spread we knew we had a situation that nobody could stop. We had to pull officers off because it just got too violent. As a Bradfordian and someone who passionately believes in working with local communities, it was heartbreaking to see the city going through this turmoil.”

Figures obtained by the Yorkshire Post show the number of Asian officers on the beat in Bradford has nearly doubled since 2001 to 4.7 per cent of the district’s force and the city now has 201 police community support officers – most of whom are expected to survive the impending cuts.

Confidence in the police in Bradford is also now recorded as above 50 per cent compared with below 40 per cent three years ago. Sir Norman Bettison, chief constable of West Yorkshire Police, says he believes the city is the perfect embodiment of his overhaul of the force in 2007 to place a greater emphasis on neighbourhood policing.

“The 1995 riots grew out of a growing frustration in the local community that the police weren’t listening to their priorities,” he says. “People were doing their own vigilante patrols in the area trying to drive prostitution and drug dealing off their streets.

“There was a growing feeling that the police weren’t listening, that we were an occupying army rather than a public service.

“Between 1995 and 2001 we were learning lessons, but we were still too detached.

“In 2001, the police were the anvil on which the local youth were beating out their frustration and anger. I do accept that there is still potential for anger and frustration, but the big difference is the police are actively talking to people on a daily basis. The police are no longer the target for that anger.

“I don’t think there will be a repeat of the riots in the future.

“There is a sense that the economic doldrums that Bradford finds itself in can be righted and addressed by the young Bradfordians using their skills and work ethic to do something about it.”

Sir Bettison says when he took up his post in 2007, he was soon reminded that there had been a riot in Bradford every six years, 1989, 1995 and 2001.

For him and his officers, the cycle of violence has been broken and they are slowly building a legacy on the city’s streets away from pitched battles and petrol bombs.

Ten years on, and it is another anniversary they are happy to forget.