Police underestimated risk of disorder during summer riots in Rotherham & other locations, report finds

Tens of thousands of pounds of damage was done to the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers Way, and more than 50 officers were injured when an anti-immigration protest escalated into a riot attended by over 450 people.

The Manvers disorder was among this summer’s riots, all of which took place after misinformation was disseminated in the wake of a fatal stabbing in Southport that claimed the lives of three young girls.

A new report from His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has looked at how police forces, including South Yorkshire Police, dealt with the disorder that broke out in the wake of the Southport tragedy.

It found that a number of events in 2023 and 2024 were indicators of potential future disorder, but this had not been reflected in police intelligence assessments.

Detailing the police response in Rotherham, the report states: “A large group of offenders targeted a hotel in Rotherham that housed asylum seekers. They attacked police officers with missiles and attempted to enter the premises.

“A line of officers with shields were protecting hotel residents and staff, who would be at severe risk if they withdrew.

“The officers had to endure sustained attack while waiting to receive mutual aid. The limited number of officers in attendance amounted to a ‘thin blue line’ and meant dynamic dispersal tactics weren’t immediately available to commanders. “

‘Officers subjected to most appalling and prolonged violence’

Responding to the report’s findings, Steve Kent, Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: “I’m glad that the unbelievable bravery of our officers has been recognised in this report.

“The officers on the ground during that period were subjected to the most appalling and prolonged violence. They are all genuine heroes and should be front and centre in the public’s mind, instead of the 0.1 per cent who do wrong and seem to dominate the media.

“We also need to thank and recognise all those officers and staff who were involved in the comms, the logistics and the investigations that helped put the offenders behind bars.”

Steve said lessons needed to be learnt from the way police forces handled the disorder, but that a major problem was a lack of funding and resources.

He said: “South Yorkshire Police is a poorly funded force, even against the backdrop of national cuts to policing. We don't have the resources to be able to cover all bases at all times.

“The officers working at protests and football matches, for example, are working days off or they have been pulled from other areas of vital policing.“

“So I believe the message that we should be hearing from the HIMC in this case is that there needs to be drastic and sustained growth in policing to repair the diminished resources and allow officers to deal with sections of our communities who think they can behave with impunity.”

Steve added: “We continue to support our officers who were involved in the disorder in whatever capacity, and urge anyone who needs support, whether it be counselling or injury therapy, to please get in touch.”

The report adds: "We have found that the series of incidents of violence and disorder across the UK during 2023 and 2024 should have influenced the police service's assessments of threat and risk.

"Our assessment of these incidents suggests that the risks of disorder were greater than the police believed them to be.

"They involved extreme nationalist sentiment, aggravated activism or serious disorder.

"All of them took place before the Southport killings and subsequent outbreaks of widespread disorder across the UK."

The incidents highlighted in the report included: disorder near asylum seeker hotels in Merseyside and Rotherham in February 2023, and from July to October in Llanelli.

Riots broke out after two teenagers died in an e-bike crash in May in Ely, Cardiff, and in November there was violence as protesters clashed over Armistice Day weekend in London.

In April 2024 disorder broke out at a St George's Day parade in London, and rival protesters clashed during a demonstration in June.

The few weeks before the post - Southport disorder saw unrest in Harehills, Leeds; the stabbing of a soldier in Kent; and a protest in Rotherham over footage of police officers using force while making arrests at Manchester Airport.

There was also another mass rally in London on July 27 .

The report also found that police chiefs brought in a system where officers are moved between forces to bolster resources too late.

It recommended that the protocol should have been brought in on Friday August 2, particularly as it was the start of the weekend and the weather was forecast to be good.

The system was not brought in until four days later, meaning that there were too many incidents where static lines of officers were being pelted with missiles and there were not enough of them to arrest troublemakers, the watchdog found.

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‘Police didn't have a proper intelligence picture of the rising tide of violence’

Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke added: "We found the police decisions to co-ordinate and mobilise those public order officers nationally were made too late, and the police didn't have a proper intelligence picture of the rising tide of violence.

"There were gaps in their intelligence functions, especially around the analysis of social media and other dark web media, and no one understood or could counter the emerging cause and effect of that misinformation and disinformation.

"So the police failed adequately to denounce it or mitigate against it in real time to deter or curtail the disorder."

In total, 302 officers were injured during the unrest, of whom 54 were admitted to hospital. The day with the largest number deployed was August 10, when 6,675 public order officers were on duty.

Mr Cooke has called for a national co-ordinator put in charge who could instruct forces to provide mutual aid and said some chief constables had dragged their feet over doing so.

There were also concerns about some officers being sent out in regular uniform rather than riot gear.

Mr Cooke said: "I doubt it will be another 14 years before we see serious disorder. I hope it is, but I doubt it.

"I think we're in a different place, there are far more tensions across communities and far more ways of sharing information across the community.

"So policing needs to ensure that it's ready for whenever that next disorder will be."

Use of water cannons

Some commanders had raised the possibility of being allowed to use water cannons to disperse rioters in future - a measure that has been used in Northern Ireland before.

This was rejected by then-Home Secretary Theresa May in 2015, on the grounds that it could cause harm and could damage the principle of consent on which UK policing operates.

London Mayor Boris Johnson spent more than £300,000 on three of the devices that remained unused and were later sold for scrap at a fraction of the cost.

The report said: "We acknowledge that use of water cannon by police in Great Britain would be highly controversial.

"There is limited police or other academic evidence about the effectiveness of its use. Opinions remain divided, even among senior police officers.

"And it was beyond the scope of this review to evaluate water cannon as a potential tactical option.

"Nearly 10 years have passed since the then Home Secretary's statement. Inevitably, conditions within society change over time.

"For that reason alone, it may be timely to explore whether current and foreseeable circumstances might render the use of water cannon conceivable."

Mr Cooke said while the systems under which officers operate need to change, they should be praised for the way they handled the riots.

"Officers displayed immense bravery in the face of extreme violence. It is to their enormous credit that they kept the public safe.

"Many police officers sustained injuries, and some were hospitalised.

"The violence officers suffered is shameful and unacceptable. They deserve the public's full support.”