Summer riots (when bored youths have nothing to do and the weather is nice) are a bit of a UK tradition.
The thing they are “protesting” about is usually irrelevant.
e.g. the “Leicester Balloon Riot” of 1864, where protesters complained that the balloon being flown was too small and out of date…
People also rioted to protest the Coronation of King George I:
There is that 
Good point, maybe a total ban would impact the monk community too much.
At what point does a mob trying to get at asylum seekers inside a hotel and attempt to set fire to the hotel, change from thuggery, the current buzzword (ironically Indian in origin), to attempted murder.
If places could be found for them I wonder if some of these rioters might be less keen to do what they are doing if the penalty changed from fines or a few months in prison to 15 years before the possibility of parole.
“Just Stop Oil” protesters have been given 2-5 year prison sentences for climbing on to motorway gantries and disrupting traffic, so one would hope that rioters who terrorise and harm people and property would get more than that.
But I’m not sure the rioters think in terms of consequences for their actions, I suspect they reckon they won’t get caught.
In a similar vein, I though David Allen Green posed an interesting question on the tipping point between thuggery and terrorism.
How the criminal justice system deals with a riot – The Law and Policy Blog (davidallengreen.com)
On one hand you’re saying that it is a long term problem and then expecting the government to sort it out quickly when they’ve only been in office for a month or so. I have confidence that it will start soon, i.e., addressing the demonisation.
No, that’s not what I am saying. I am not expecting it to be sorted out quickly, in fact the complete opposite.
What I am saying is that all I am hearing from the Government is about stamping out and punishing the current extraordinary violence. Which of course is the priority. But I think they should be wrapping that message with a longer term commitment to address the deeper reasons for this decent into carnage. I haven’t heard any of that.
Hilariously, the only one I’ve heard (just now on W@1) putting this mess into a longer term context is Farage who has claimed it “as a result of mass, uncontrolled immigration”. In other words, he’s used the opportunity to spread further lies and division. That’s why, despicable as he is, he’s a bloody smart politician. He’s condemning the thugs and encouraging them at the same time 
The Government should be saying this is a major issue for Society, it is based on lies, misinformation and division and we will be addressing this as soon as we’ve sorted out the immediate calamity, not just, as I perceive it, focussing on the current calamity.
That, what I think anyway 
BTW, I do think if it was CRS rather than bobbies in the frontline then it would be over very quickly. Plus less scarce prison cells and more hospital beds would be required for the rioters.
I’m curious how police numbers compare between France and the UK. It seems that, at the first sign of trouble, French police can quite effectively flood an area though that may just be perception from coverage of big cities.
Yes, I remember being in Paris a few years ago and there was some seemingly harmless manifestation going on. I rounded a corner onto a back street and there were dozens of CRS vans all lined up, probably up other streets as well. If anything had kicked off it would have been crushed instantly. I’ve seen the same in Nice. I guess they get more practice in France.
Seeing the poor coppers with their little shields and comparing them to the armour plated CRS I feel very sorry for them 
The whole level of disrespect is dreadful.
The National Police have a very similar strength to the total U.K. police of 150,000 officers.
The difference is that France also has 102,000 Gendarmes (with an additional 30,000 reservist Gendarmes).
France also has a much larger armed forces that the U.K. : 270,000 to 150,000 not counting the Gendarmerie or reserves.
LOL - Many were deliberately leering at the press so they will be recognisable then when being questioned, they will most likely spill the beans on others once they realise what they might lose. The government has to make an example of those convicted of this rioting to stop others thinking about doing it otherwise what is the point of the justice and police system. As a lot of people have also said, bring back hanging for those clearly 100% guilty of their crime, it may stop others doing the same!
Ahh, but are there many of those and should the State descend to the taking of life. I think locking them up forever might be a better punishment really. Plus, I don’t think there’s ever been proof that the death penalty acts as a deterrent - that would be called the Rwanda argument
Probably a little harsh, but maybe stocks and pillory, and the subsequent public humiliation would be more of a deterrent.
I hope they’ve done so publicly, in writing. It makes life much easier if people do the work for you and with AI I’m sure it could be set up to immediately cross reference their name and position on this issue and give me a 
or 
within half a second of meeting them.
There’s plenty of proof that it doesn’t. Most violent crime is “spur of the moment”, and therefore a deterrent does not come into play.
Well, if we do get embroiled in a war with Iran or Russia, at least we’ve a ready supply of cannon fodder from the off.
For information, I don’t believe in the death penalty either but plenty do if you read online comments. Life in solitary confinement with no chance of parole would be a better punishment. Will they have to keep the 17-year old in solitary now when he is jailed otherwise he is a sitting target for those who do not like child killers?
Any talk of the death penalty always remind me of this, where Priti Patel is really shown up by Ian Hislop.
Brilliant. She’s a complete idiot, and thus highly qualified to be the next Tory leader.