Quick fixes not enough to address policing lessons of summer 2024 disorder, says new report

While it found the police response was “entirely appropriate”, an information vacuum allowed disinformation to flourish online, undermining confidence in the police and public authorities.

However, “disgraceful” claims of two-tier policing were unsubstantiated and served only to further undermine police officers, said the committee.

In July and August last year, significant disorder took place in UK towns and cities following the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Da Silva Aguiar in Southport. An estimated 40,000 additional officer shifts were required by police officers in a ten-day period and more than 1,500 arrests were made in response to the disorder.

In key aspects, the criminal justice system has failed to keep pace with the social media age, the report finds. Contempt of court rules led to restrictions on disclosure which created an information vacuum that allowed disinformation to flourish. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is also right to review its 19-year-old guidelines but will also need to ensure a shared understanding of their interpretation with criminal justice partners and the media, said the committee.

It added: “Some police forces failed to anticipate the intensity of the violence in 2024. This undermined their ability to undertake proactive policing and left officers exposed to significant risk.

“The coordination of the national police response to localised disorder lacked resilience, which weakened the overall response. The Government’s planned policing reforms should be ambitious to address these problems.”

The report said unsubstantiated and “disgraceful” claims of “two-tier policing” served only to undermine police officers. Given the levels of violence and criminal behaviour witnessed in summer 2024, the committee found the police response to be “entirely appropriate”.

“The successful police response relied on the criminal justice system being able to prosecute and imprison high numbers of offenders at speed,” said the committe. “This necessitated dedicated resourcing and government support. However, lengthy court backlogs continue to delay justice in the wider system.

“The Government’s ambitious crime reduction targets will require better join-up between different parts of the criminal justice system, learning from the experience of the disorder.”

Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Dame Karen Bradley said: “Police officers on the ground showed tremendous courage and fortitude in responding to scenes of deplorable violence. But some police forces could have better anticipated the risk of disorder and taken a more proactive and preventative approach.

“Lessons must be learned from how the whole criminal justice system worked together. It will need to ensure that police forces can improve how they deal with regular policing work as well as supporting them to develop capacity to respond to crises. The Government’s plans for police reform will be especially important for making sure national policing structures support forces effectively in emergencies.

“It is a grim reality that bad actors sought to exploit the unspeakable tragedy that unfolded in Southport. By failing to disclose information to the public, false claims filled the gap and flourished online, further undermining confidence in the police and public authorities. The criminal justice system will need to ensure its approach to communication is fit for the social media age.

“There is a difference in how police must deal with violence and how they deal with peaceful protests. This needs to recognised by commentators who all too readily spread claims of “two tier policing”. Organised disorder is rightly met with a robust response; any implied equivalence with planned non-violent protests is simply wrong.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said while the report commends police officers and staff for their efforts during last summer’s unrest, despite significant risks and injuries in the face of “unacceptable violence”, it acknowledges systemic challenges stemming from outdated structures and highlights the need for reform.

This echoes commitments recently made by NPCC chair Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, who has outlined his own vision for a new era of policing.

The committee’s recommendations, including around national mobilisation and addressing dis- and misinformation on social media, are deemed “timely and vital for improving policing effectiveness”, the NPCC said.

It added: “The report rejects claims of ‘two-tier policing’ and appreciates the complexity of the response to such unprecedented events.

“The findings will inform ongoing discussions, with further insights expected following the next His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) report.”

Chief Constable BJ Harrington, the NPCC lead for Operations and the former Gold commander of Operation Navette, said: “The report rightly praises the efforts of police officers and staff in responding to the events of last summer, often in the face of very real risk and injury. Nobody should go to work and be physically assaulted, have bricks and petrol bombs thrown at them, and end up in hospital with potentially life-changing injuries. Unfortunately, that is what happened last year, and it was utterly unacceptable.

“Policing leaders are proud of the work our officers, staff and volunteers do and the sacrifice they make to keep people safe. However, the fact that we are working in a system that was designed more than 60 years ago is far from ideal, and this report highlights the need for reform in specific areas, which aligns with the work of the newly founded Police Reform Programme.

“We know that there are number of obstacles, from a policing perspective, that limit effectiveness in policing across the UK, so these recommendations are extremely timely and will inform conversations that we are having with partners.”

He added: “The committee cite previous findings from the inspectorate that the national mobilisation plan could have been made earlier, and this is a helpful recommendation.

“Hindsight can be useful, and these learnings are important, but we are pleased that the committee also recognise how complex of a situation this was for policing to respond to, and that on the whole, the service did so well.

“We are pleased that the report robustly disagrees with the notion of ‘two tier policing’, and that the policing response was entirely appropriate given the levels of violence and criminality that were on display. We are also appreciative of the consideration given to the dangerous of mis and disinformation on social media, which remain substantial areas of risk for policing and something that the Inspectorate have been evaluating as part of their own review into the disorder.

“We will carefully consider all of the committee’s recommendations, noting that the Government will also be waiting for the publication of the second HMICFRS report later this year in order to ascertain how they can support policing in implementing these collective findings.”

Emily Spurrell, chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said: “Last year’s violence and disorder was deeply traumatising and has had significant impact on residents, communities and wider society.

“The inquiry conducted by Parliament’s Home Affairs Select Committee and resulting report has rightly highlighted the excellent response from officers on the ground, rejected claims of two-tier policing, and I am pleased to see their bravery and determination in the face of adversity commended.

“However, the report also suggested that an earlier, nationally coordinated policing response could have protected more of the public, police officers and property from harm. Ensuring this capability and improved information sharing at a national level must be a priority for all involved in the policing reform agenda.

“I also recognise issues the report raises about declining trust in institutions and the impact of the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media in fuelling the violent disorder. It is vital that the public have trust and confidence in our public services which is why I welcome the commitment of the Crown Prosecution Service to review its social media guidelines to enable policing and its partners to be able to counter false and incendiary claims without fear of compromising ongoing investigations and subsequent trials. It is incumbent on all of us in public life to combat the malicious and dangerous falsehoods that are spread online.”

“As the report acknowledges, the response of the criminal justice system in prosecuting and these crimes was swift and decisive. We now need to ensure that system is able to respond in the same way for all crimes.”

Ms Spurrell, the police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Merseyside, added: “We were pleased to see funding confirmed by the Home Office to cover the costs of the police response to the disorder, however, there remain significant challenges for some PCC in relation to riot compensation. The report supports PCCs’ call not to fund riot compensation claims from their existing policing budgets and I urge the Government to release funding to cover costs incurred during the disorder as soon as possible to enable this.”

Key findings from the Home Affairs Committee report

Social media and disinformation

Policies on the release of information relating to criminal trials have not kept pace with the evolution of social media. This created a vacuum within which disinformation was able to thrive.

The commitment of the CPS to minimising risks to successful prosecutions is understandable, but inconsistent advice over the publication of information placed Merseyside Police in a difficult position.

The CPS’s decision to review their media protocol is welcome. This should be published as soon as possible and regularly updated. The CPS should also work with partner organisations in the police and media to ensure there is a clear shared understanding of its interpretation and use.

Individual police forces are right to recognise the importance of monitoring social media as part of their intelligence gathering. Continuing this capacity will be important to deal with future disorder at a local level, as well as regular policing. However, the volume of social media activity and use of encrypted platforms mean that national support is required. The Home Office should examine how the new national system for policing can include capacity to monitor and respond to social media at a national level.

Police response

Police forces were unprepared for the level of violence witnessed across the country in 2024. This prevented them from taking a proactive approach to policing and left officers exposed to significant risk. Forces should have better anticipated the risk of disorder and not assumed further protests would be peaceful after disorder in Southport.

Lessons need to be learnt to ensure that policing can respond more effectively to instances of disorder in the future, as well as improving general resilience. Mutual aid between police forces worked well in some areas but was inconsistent. National policing structures acted as a hinderance to the policing response and reliable national data was lacking.

The disorder placed yet more pressure on an already stretched police workforce. Police officers and other staff worked for long hours in extremely difficult circumstances and at significant personal cost. Many suffered injury and other trauma. Those not dealing with disorder directly will also have dealt with an increased workload and resulting fatigue.

The Government should ensure all additional costs incurred by forces across the country so as not to impact on ongoing police work. It should develop specific plans for retention to better support the existing workforce and ensure the right mix of staff for future challenges. As it sets out to develop improvements to the national policing system, the Government should be ambitious and not focus on short terms wins.

Once it receives the response to the second part of the review by HMICFRS, the Government should ensure it sets out how it will implement its findings, over what timescale and how it will be funded.

The criminal justice system

The disorder demonstrated that effective policing relies on an efficient criminal justice system to prosecute crimes and imprison offenders, the report finds. This necessitated extra resourcing and government support, but wider problems remain in the courts and prison estate. Lengthy trial backlogs persist and other serious crimes have seen significant delays to justice.

The Government’s long term ambitions to make substantial reductions to offending will only be achieved with better long-term alignment between Home Office policies on crime and Ministry of Justice policies on courts and prisons.

Two-tier policing

The police response has been subject to accusations of “two-tier policing”, alleging that those involved in disorder had been police more strongly than previous protests.

The Home Affairs Committee found no evidence for these claims. It considers the police response to be entirely appropriate given the levels of violence and criminality.

It additionally expresses disappointment at the unsubstantiated claims of ‘two-tier policing’ through social and traditional media. Such claims undermined the efforts of police officers dealing with the riots.