Bristol Police release stats on Stokes Crofts riots

bristol | policing | press release Thursday May 31, 2012 10:56 by anon

Re-posted from destroybristol.wordpress.com:

I am re-posting this information in order to inspire people to fight back against repression and I hope the talk of snitching fills you with as much rage as it does me. Also note the co-operation of Stokes Croft businesses.

From the Bristol police website:

A protester involved in the violent disorder in Stokes Croft last summer has been sentenced to 14 months imprisonment.

Patrick Besiris, 21, pleaded guilty to throwing rocks at police officers during the disturbances and appeared at Bristol Crown Court today.

Besiris is the final offender to be sentenced following the disorders in Stokes Croft last April and the disorder in the city centre in August.

In total 137 people were arrested in connection with these incidents, of which 72 have been charged or cautioned and sentenced to more than 46 years imprisonment.

84 arrests were made during and following the disorder in Stokes Croft – 44 of these people were charged or given final warnings or cautions and 29 were dealt with by the courts for offences including violent disorder, affray and burglary.

Benjamin Cyster, 18, from Bristol, was sentenced to seven and a half years having been convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent following an incident in which a concrete breeze block was dropped on a police officer from the top of a building.

Joseph Foster, aged 21, pleaded guilty to having an article with intent to destroy or damage property after he was found with a petrol bomb on April 21, 2011. He was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

David Foster, aged 23, was convicted of offences relating to the disorder on April 21 and April 28, 2011 and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Elijah Smith was convicted in December 2011 for his involvement in the disturbances in Stokes Croft in April of last year. Since then he has admitted being involved in student disorder disturbances in London in March 2011.

During the investigation officers examined many hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and appealed for the public’s help to identify suspects.

26 people were charged to court following the disorder in the city centre in August. Eight were subject to youth referral or rehabilitation orders, eight were given prison sentences and two were fined.

Detective Chief Inspector Will White, who led the investigations, said: “I would like to thank all the members of the public who supported us throughout this investigation – helping us to painstakingly identify hundreds of CCTV images which have helped us bring these offenders to justice.

“I would also like to thank the residents and businesses in Stokes Croft for their support during the disorders and the weeks and months that followed as we pieced together valuable evidence.

“We will not tolerate disorder of any kind that jeopardises public safety and the safety of police officers carrying out their work. Anyone that engages in this type of behaviour should expect to be placed before the courts and dealt with in a robust manner.

“The sentences handed out by the courts and the swift justice that has been administered should demonstrate our commitment to keeping Bristol a safe place to live and work.”