5 weeks on from the riots and everyone is beginning to take stock. The Government's knee-jerk reaction has not been helpful. We still have little idea of the underlying causes, which are likely to be numerous and complex.
I have met with the Borough Commander and the Mayor of Lewisham to discuss what is known and what might be done to prevent any future occurence. I have already received comments and ideas from constituents which will be shared and I'm keen to hear from more people.
The police had to take a hard decision. The threats were to Lewisham Police Station and the shopping centre. The numbers were such that they could only defend the centre area; however, holding the central ground meant that they could not prevent looting in Lee High Road, Deptford/New Cross and Catford.
The local police and shopping centre management did an excellent job in their response. When the centre closed early, they managed to get all shoppers out of the centre in 8 minutes.
83 businesses in the borough were affected and the police are now going through 1200 CCTV images - there have been 118 arrests so far, but this is an ongoing process. At the moment the Borough Commander is unable to give a picture of the demographics of who instigated and who participated in the disturbances locally as it has to be assumed that as the images are processed the picture could well change.
Anecdotally there was a broad cross-section of people involved and he told me about a pensioner with a walking stick and a mother with a child in a pushchair walking out of a sports store with new trainers, alongside those that 'fit' with the image of a 17-25-year-old looter. However, there has been widespread condemnation of the riots and looting and a great deal of support for the police.
The local police and shopping centre management did an excellent job in their response. When the centre closed early, they managed to get all shoppers out of the centre in 8 minutes.
83 businesses in the borough were affected and the police are now going through 1200 CCTV images - there have been 118 arrests so far, but this is an ongoing process. At the moment the Borough Commander is unable to give a picture of the demographics of who instigated and who participated in the disturbances locally as it has to be assumed that as the images are processed the picture could well change.
Anecdotally there was a broad cross-section of people involved and he told me about a pensioner with a walking stick and a mother with a child in a pushchair walking out of a sports store with new trainers, alongside those that 'fit' with the image of a 17-25-year-old looter. However, there has been widespread condemnation of the riots and looting and a great deal of support for the police.
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