Young people face potentially life-long consequences of being involved in disorder, DPP warns
The Crown Prosecution Service has been at the heart of the law enforcement response to the appalling outbreaks of violence and disorder across the country.
Over the weekend we deployed dozens of extra prosecutors to provide real-time advice to the police and authorise charges where we were given the key information that we need. If more resources are required, we will provide them. Alongside our dedicated out-of-hours service, we have a central surge team at the ready, to be deployed wherever needed.
One of the most striking features of the current outbreak of disorder is that many young people are involved. Children as young as 11. This is deeply disturbing. They may face life-long consequences: conviction, and a permanent record of their involvement on the Police National Database. This can limit their employment options in the future and ability to travel to certain countries.
For adults, these offences can attract lengthy sentences of imprisonment, beyond the two-year maximum detention available for young offenders. Sentencing is a matter for the judiciary, but from the evidence that I have seen, sentencing guidelines suggest that immediate imprisonment will be appropriate for the type of violent disorder that has been witnessed.
If this seems harsh, the reality, from reports I have received from prosecutors, is that there has been a terrible impact on communities: people barricaded in properties, businesses destroyed and police officers facing violence while trying to keep people safe.
Within the CPS, our national structure has meant that consistent messages are reaching prosecutors quickly. This includes my direction that we should make immediate charging decisions as soon as the evidential threshold for charging is met.
More widely, we have established a gold command structure to bring together police, prosecutors, and the courts service, coordinating action to make sure prosecutions can progress quickly and efficiently. If necessary, this will include special emergency courts with dedicated prosecutors to support them.
Seeking to prosecute cases swiftly does not mean a compromise in quality. The CPS and police together are building strong cases – with clear guidance from us about the evidence needed from the outset.
In some cases, people have already pleaded guilty to violent disorder – an offence committed where three or more people are using or threatening violence which causes people to fear for safety. These have been sent to the Crown Court for sentence.
In other cases, evidence is being assembled with the aid of CCTV, body-worn video, and facial recognition technology.
It is important to note that people do not even have to be directly involved to commit crimes: inciting violence from your computer is also an offence.
The work of the criminal justice system will continue in overdrive in the coming days to build the cases against the people who have been arrested and to identify the many others who have been involved.
Justice is coming for those who have rained chaos on their local streets – to secure this, the CPS will act swiftly, working alongside our partners in the criminal justice system.
Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions