Nearly 2,000 Years Of Rioting Sentences Handed Out

Exactly a year after riots broke out in London, figures show that prison sentences totalling more than 1,800 years have been handed out to those involved in the disorder.

In the worst public unrest for a generation, riots and looting broke out in Tottenham on August 7 last year after police shot Mark Duggan.

Riots occurred all over England, shocking the public and the press, who had been more used to seeing such scenes come from Northern Ireland or from Greece.

Ministry of Justice figures show that a total of 1,292 offenders have been jailed for their part in the riots.

Magistrates were tough on the rioters and gave out an average custodial sentence of 16.8 months.

This means courts have issued rioters with sentences totalling approximately 1,808 years.

Chief prosecutor Alison Saunders, of the Crown Prosecution Service, told the BBC she backed the tough sentences.

She said: "I do think the criminal justice response was particularly important. People could see there were consequences. They could see the criminal justice system responding and that sent a really strong message from society that this was unacceptable."

The time after the riots was challenging for the state body, she said, with evidence and paperwork on rioters coming in "literally by the sackful".

But incredibly the cases are not all finished yet.

308 defendants still face proceedings over their alleged roles in the riots.

And the CPS is dealing with about 10 riot-related cases per week.

(NE)