back to article Essex cops slaps cuffs on social media riot crusaders

Eager Essex fuzz have cuffed three locals lads suspected of using social media site Facebook to whip gangs of teenage marauders into a looting frenzy. An 18-year-old man from Grays and a 16-year-old from South Ockendon were taken into custody yesterday morning, where they remain, and a 17-year-old who was caught at around 5pm …

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  1. Dotter
    Thumb Up

    Essex

    I was wondering why Southend hadn't had any rioting yet. It usually gets more than its fair share of smashed windows.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Devil

    Wonder where that could have been then

    Slappers and boy racers? Gotta be Sarfend or Basildon!

  3. Clare (web specialist)
    Thumb Down

    Police brutality

    Just for posting messages on Face book? This is a disgrace are the police going to arrest everybody over 13 and under 22?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Depends

      Your opinion would probably change if you found your own property was attacked.

    2. TeeCee Gold badge
      Mushroom

      Re: Police brutality

      Depends what exactly was posted. Incitement to riot is an offence and a serious one at that.

      This is hardly in the same category as the "blowing up the airport" tweet, which was quite obviously a gag and even more obviously written by someone not planning to actually do anything. This is right in the middle of a period of serious civil unrest and quite likely to be taken seriously by the chavscum readers. Any hint that these pricks were being remotely serious and they should get the book[1] thrown at them IMHO. Even if it was intended as a gag, a stern ticking off is in order.

      Incidently, where's the "brutality" in this or did you just forget that there is actually a troll icon?

      [1] No, the really big one off the top shelf please and you won't be needing that key again either.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      brutality?

      Huh? where is the suggestion of brutality in this ? They were arrested, and questioned. This happens when you perform dubious activities that come to the attention of the authorities.

      Hope you're more of a "specialist" at the web than you are at the legal system

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    How about

    Arresting the ones doing the looting?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      You must be joking

      The ones doing the looting are violent. It would be totally against health and safety for the police to approach them. Instead, they arrest 16-year-olds who post on Facebook. Much safer.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ummmm

    how about rioters first, then inciters?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Cut of the head of the snake and the body will die"

      The rioters shouldn't go unpunished but if you arrest 500 people 1000 more come along, you arrest those 1000, and you get 2000 more turn up...all organised by the same people.

      Arrest the person responsible for inciting violence and rioting and the first 500 never materialise. This saves hundreds of thousands of pounds in police time and clean up costs, rather than just arresting the people caught committing a crime which will just add to the ever increasing bill.

  6. Wize

    Having stayed in Grays...

    ...it already looks like the aftermath of a riot.

    They should move all the troublemakers there and wall it off from the rest of society.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Or

      Drop them all off on Canvey Island then remove the causeways.

      Simples.

      AC incase my my family or friends see I am dissing the home land.

  7. Dave 15

    Police priorities

    I guess the police might argue that arresting and charging those posting inflamatory comments stop the violence... but clearly they are wrong, maybe the way to stop the violence is to have a few coppers around the street being polite, intervening when a bunch of youths are kicking a door in, rather than either standing on street corners watching, checking speed cameras or trawling the web...

    1. Microphage

      Dave 15: Police priorities

      "maybe the way to stop the violence is to have a few coppers around the street being polite"

      I don't think so ..

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNh-fTv1Gm8

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is this going to go too far?

    Ugh, I don't want to be the one to say this. But is anyone else worried that this whole 'arrested for saying X on facebook' thing might go a bit far? This might be setting a precedent for the future.

    Right now, I say yes, its probably the right thing to do. Whatever action they can take to ensure the riots don't spread is welcomed.

    I just hope the police don't get too comfy and decide to start arresting everyone who says something questionable on facebook/twitter/whatever.

    1. That Steve Guy

      Going to far?

      If you are in the street inciting people to riot you will get arrested, why should social media be any different?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Perhaps I wasn't clear enough

        I think I didn't get my point across very well.

        I agree that it's not acceptable and action should be taken. But I'd like to know what was actually posted. Anyone else remember the guy who was arrested for something he put on twitter?

        ‘C**p! Robin Hood Airport is closed,’ he tweeted. ‘You’ve got a week and a bit to get your s*** together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!’.

        Am I going to get arrested if I post to my Facebook that I wish every London underground employee would just die, next time they go on strike?

    2. Pete 2 Silver badge

      Arrested

      > arrested for saying X on facebook ...

      One thing we tend to forget is that although being arrested denies the arrestee of their freedom, which is in itself a punishment, it does not mean that the person has been charged with an offence - let alone been found guilty of any wrongdoing.

      The worrying thing is if this develops into the SOP for the police, apropos Facebook. Say something on FB they don't like. Get arrested and detained for a period of time, then released without charge. You've been inconvenienced and held in the slammer - effectively put in jail - but nobody has accused you of committing a crime.

      1. Danny 14
        Thumb Up

        re:arrest

        and it gets your DNA on the PNC

    3. Colin Millar

      Going too far?

      Well it depends what they are saying don't you think?

      Incitement to commit crimes should be illegal however/wherever it takes place and if that is what they were doing then being on facebook/twitter should not be a defence.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    "Stands back in amazement!"

    ...as Eddie Large used to say, finally FaceBook as something worthwhile to contribute!

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Trollface

    Chav looters and FaceBook

    Made for each other!

  11. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      Selfish shop owners?

      Please explain that?

      So a family business, who work 6am to 11pm, employing people in local communites are selfish? Now there are likely to go out of business and put many people on the dole, with people possibley loosing their homes as a result.

      Nope really lost me there.

      1. MarkieMark1
        Holmes

        that's right

        it's everyone else's fault, no-one here is making more profits than they deserve, move along nothing to see here

      2. MarkieMark1
        Stop

        ps have you ever considered

        that the reason you're working until 11pm is that you're a slave to money? Need to know when to stop?

        1. Danny 14
          Trollface

          indeed

          stop feeding the troll people, its fat enough.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Mushroom

          Cock

          that is all

  12. NoneSuch Silver badge
    Big Brother

    Rioters first obviously, but...

    ...it is easier to track down a FB account holder, get his mobile number then use the built in GPS on the mobile to track down the suspect.

    It is called the low hanging fruit approach and in the future it is going to be used more and more for less offensive crimes.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Facebook policing has been going on for ages.

    I believe I joined Facebook, fairly early on, and one of the first things we did when me and some mates got drunk and stupid was start a group about an old Primary school teacher, things he said and did, etc. Then outsiders started to join the group adding their stories. Then when allegations were made against this teacher for real, many members of the group were called in for questionning by the police to see if the stories were true and if we would make statements.

    Some were outlandishly false and those were slapped on the wrist for wasting police time.... a little cheeky considering we were called to the station by them, not the other way around.

    At the end of the day its easy policework and let this be a lesson to all, be careful what you put on social networking.

    On the other hand I believe the people that came forward with genuine stories secured the conviction of a bad man.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Unhappy

      Since when...

      has telling the truth on your facebook account been a legal requirement?

      The media don't.

      The police don't.

      Lawyers don't.

      Politicians don't.

      Harriet Harpie refused point blank to back a law which would prosecute politicians who lied. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misrepresentation_of_the_People_Act)

  14. Mr Young
    Stop

    PM says he is going to use water cannons

    What a pussy!!! Send in the Glasgow cops - that'll teach the little fuckers! A cheap flight and they could be anywhere in the country within an hour or two probably. Seriously, I do think it's a bit sad to see all the business and property and jobs go down the pan just like that

  15. M7S
    Thumb Up

    Why not arrest them?

    If they are inciting rioting (and I accept that's yet to be proven in court) then I'd rather they were arrested now before even more of the places we live and work in are torched.

    If going for the instigators / agitators of such criminal violence reduces the amount of crime and violence, how exactly is that a bad thing?

  16. Onid
    FAIL

    I'm glad, not glad, glad again - no wait not glad...

    Just imagine if they were using true private channels the coppers would have any intel to go on.

    Now however the coppers actions might get people (unlikely with this croud) to start thinking setting up more private channels of comms. So by the police advertising that they got their intel from facebook/twitter/etc they may be braking their sources. Possibly they shouldn't reveal their sources and not act in a manner that points directly to their source of information thus destroying it as it pushes the malactors to take further measures. They certainly should not be arresting the "inciters" as it where however counterintuitive it may sound. They should just show up as if they were just ever present to the point that malactors just think they can't get away with anything hoards of cops are just around the corner.

    On the other hand if everyone stops using facebook out of all this their might be a silver lining out of the millions/billions of damage being caused..... Might answer the question "what does it take to take down facebook" - Civil riots and looting!!!

  17. Jemma
    FAIL

    Tell you what Karen Manners...

    Why don't you do your fscking job PROPERLY and protect people when they need protecting - and stop ignoring minorities. Its that good old 'protect and serve, so long as you aint asian/black/muslim,/LGBT/live on a council estate'. Do your job instead of mouthing off to the Press about people you've never met, not to mention your organization probably helped push them to the point of attacking the police.

    You and the Police in general are to use Bomber Harris's old phrase 'reaping the whirlwind' because the more and more you harass and abuse people just because you can, then prove to be utter epic failures without historical precedent when they need you, the more respect you will lose.

    And the sole solitary thing between you and being a smear on the pavement is the respect of the general public, once they lose respect in you entirely, and its approaching that point right now, they wont see you as cops, they will see you as a bunch of berks all wearing the same uniform to make them easier to kill. A Police officer is just as maimable or killable as me or anyone else, the sole thing that stays peoples hand (and the only reason you lot go after cop killers like deranged Jack Russells', when you ignore transphobic killings) is that blue uniform and the "respect" it engenders. I actually stood in my local police station and asked an officer who he would vote for in elections - the answer came back BNP - and I am supposed to trust people like that to protect me?! Are you going to change your rank to SS-Gruppenfuhrer? after all it would seem apt to me, and somewhat more honest into the bargain.

    Stop the racism, stop the homophobia, stop the religious intolerance and actually do your job and the people might actually begin to respect you. Keep on acting like you are, and failing people you KNEW were in danger, to the point that a mother and 3 year old daughter were killed, and you are going to lose all authority. At which point you will be toast.

    Oh, and on the Chief Superintendent thing - sorry, but no. When you and the people you are responsible for can do your sodding job properly, thats when I will refer to you by that title. And not before. SS-Gruppenfuhrer doesnt have slight the same ring does it?

    NOTE: I do not agree with rioting and attacking people who are entirely innocent. Neither do I agree with rioters attacking and robbing young children. But I have to say I have zero respect for anything in a Police uniform as it stands, and the fact that there is no evidence that police were fired upon - not to mention managed to make a peaceful protest into a London Wide disaster resembling the epilogue to Shawn of the Dead - bears out all my beliefs that the entire police force is one massive inept organism that has taken bigotry and stupidity and laxity to the bleeding edge of the state of the art.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Mushroom

      Karen Manners

      Karen is from Hampshire police, and in my experience they are the best I've ever had to deal with. It is unfair to attribute her to anything that happened in London.

      Last night, we had trouble in Southampton. It was dealt with appropriately and in a way that saw no escalation.

      The minorities in Southampton are very well looked after. We have a large Asian community in Southampton, and they have a much better police presence than the majority of us.

      The Hampshire police completely restored my faith in the police after living in London, Scotland, and Wiltshire.

      So why don't you go somewhere else on your whiny mission of hate and try and tar someone else with that brush,.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Hampshire Police

        They have a Twitter account http://twitter.com/#!/HantsPoliceLGBT

        Doesn't look like they are ignoring them. It looks like they are actively engaging with them.

      2. Jemma

        The charge of the AC brigade

        I dont care if the lass is running the lockup on Tatooine..

        From the first time I called the police for assistance at age 13 to the last time a year ago theyve been the spit and image of epic fail. I have been abused for being Pagan, I have been abused for other reasons. And yeah, driving a 4 speed renault 5... Sure, im casing £2 million houses... Nope im lost mate.

        I have been assaulted three times, twice in hospital, all times hate crimes. I report it to the police, it takes them 4 MONTHS to get back to me, and when they do their own paperwork proves them to have lied. I warn the local police that if they dont get a handle on hate crime its gonna get worse...

        Sure enough my friend is pulled dead from the river, after their target had left, they went after her. Their target: me. Only dumb luck that I am still here now.

        And that is not even the half of it. So yeah, when the P word is mentioned I get a Rosenberg worthy case of "black eyed and veiny". I have every right to thanks very much. And so has the 6 year old girl from braintree whose mum and sister were blown away after they'd asked for and been denied police protection.

        I said it before and I will say it again. i DO NOT agree with rioting because everyone else is doing it. Neither do I approve of attacks on kids, personally I'd be happy to provide the people guilty of THAT a tuppenny upright via my grandads old 9mm rifle. But the more people have experiences with the Police that have been epic fail from can to can't then the more tension there will be and the less control the panda piglets will have.

        I have no complaint with a cop that actually does their job, but since 1988 I havent run into a single one yet, so you'll forgive me if I have a case of cynicism that would trouble a B-52s lift capacity

        Oh, and whos betting the reichspolizei have even bothered to *check* that the comments on the facebook profiles were actually written by the owners concerned.. Tell you for one, i wouldnt bet money on that one. That'd go to the judges (pun intended). And do you think the police will leave these kids alone in the future if they get pulled up on it for not investigating correctly? Will they hell as like - there is nothing more dangerous in the british isles than a cop whose been proven to be an inept talentless bigoted prick who wants to get his own back.

        So yes, I dont like the police, are you beginning to get my point WHY? Understanding much why I consider every one of them gormless & bigoted until proven other wise?.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Thumb Down

          Oh

          So this is a personal issue, not one of society? You had a number of bad incidents, and thought that the system should be perfect?

          Were you based in Hampshire then this happened? Is that the reason you personally addressed this to Karen Manners?

          111 injured officers in the last 3 days. Police having their leave cancelled. The streets have policemen and policewomen on the street who are doing this for FREE!

          You decide, now. Based on how the Police are trying to stop the medium by which people are being injured, to air your personal gievences. Now... when people are dying. Now when they are out in the middle of the night to try and protect society from cumbling: you want to spit up about the fact you've not had good experiencess of them, and they should do their job properly. It's almost like you have aspergers. Why don't just wait until there are good reasons to tie your critisims too, instead of the one time in the countries history, that I can remember, that society realised just how important they are. It's really not very bright.

          I've had bad experiences from police as well, but never in Hampshire. The police force itself has probably changed a lot since you were 13.

          Or maybe it is your attitude that they are somehow facist persecutors instead of, regular people trying to do a job to the benefit of the community, which is causing you this trouble.

    2. Loyal Commenter Silver badge
      Thumb Down

      Really?

      In any dealings I have ever had with the police, they have been very well mannered, and those that I have had have mostly been with Avon and Somerset Constabulary, a force who reputedly are one of the less well behaved. Maybe it is your antagonistic attitude towards the police that causes the friction, rather than their attiude towards you?

      Having said that; of course, ther are bad apples, it only stands to reason, but they are a tiny tiny minority. The ones at the top, however, could probably benefit from spending more time doing actual police work rather than political activities. ACPO should also be properly regulated, so that the orders that come down from the top come from accoutnable sources.

      1. Jemma

        quick question LC?

        Are you a minority in any sense of the word?

        Because if you arent you have no concept of how bad police officers can be. If you are white, christian, straight, well off there is one police force. If you arent its like a whole 'nother world and take it from me its not an improvement.

        Report a burglery, tell the officer you think they've left stuff to collect later, tell them youre a teen kid on their own, ask for the police to assist since if those people do come back you are at imminent risk... What happens, the cops turn up 3 HOURS later, having left a vulnerable child at risk for hours, after the glazing company arrived to repair the damage...

        And thats when I was still a good little 'normal' well off clone-sprog. You know, before I started with the horse slicing and other fun crap the police and media like to drop at us Pagans feet.

        Its gotten a damn sight worse since then.

    3. Mr Young
      Thumb Up

      Word count buffer overflow

      title required

  18. Dropper
    Pint

    Good old days

    I miss the days when we would shoot as many as possible and send what's left to Australia. Conscription is definitely not the answer, because while the days of cannon-fodder are also fondly remembered, the British military as moved on from trenches and prefers their squaddies to have half a brain - especially when the guns are dolled out. Hanging takes to long to organise. Prisons are already overcrowded. That leaves Australia, perhaps with an advance letter of apology to the natives.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      RE: Good old days

      Just because we sent you Rolf Harris and Germaine Greer, that's no reason to get snarky.

      Well, OK, maybe it is, but we stopped accepting convicts in 1868. Try New Zealand.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Devil

    re: Police and Pagans

    I would have thought your Pagan gods would have protected you and couldn't you put a curse on your enemies afterwards .......

    1. Jemma

      spoken like a true f$€kwit

      Did I say I believed in Deity, no I did not. Having spent the majority of my life having the godbotherers book shoved down my throat by honest god-fearing proto paedos, I had well enough of Gods by the age of 13. I work with spirits of place, having learned that you trust the average deity as you do the average politician, you tend to need to take alot of care, but I digress (which means drift from what I am talking about).

      Magical workings against others are generally not the wisest of acts either... Look up the law of return (and no, I dont mean Dixons, or macroeconomics). For those pitfalls on the road to progress that are human a large knife often makes the point admirably (from a distance your average bigot cannot see theyre blunt).

      I seriously doubt many drug dealers tend to go robed, nor do they tend to carry 12inch damascene knives as religious tools, state sanctioned mark you.

      But still I had to deal with two nice friendly piglets searching my car from sills to sluice rails, stem to stern, and verbal abuse into the bargain. On the basis that I was on my own and an easy target. Since they wanted me to leave the area, I made it clear that until they searched, neither I or by extension they were going anywhere... And that I would be wanting an apology for being, and I quote 'one of those pagan freaks' and apparently 'a dangerous criminal' to boot. Oddly enough MTW was entirely free of anything more exciting than oil, petrol, water and sundry electrolytes. I got my apology.

      Ironic since hanging from my waist at my left hip, was said 12 inch blade.

      Thats not to mention Police bs at a later re dedication of a local temple site. "we cant give you permission since its been in the paper and we cant guarantee safety because we cant spare resources". Lmfao - so what about the high speed pursuit car that went round and round the site for 4 solid hours? The poor elephants just down the road must have gotten dizzy the number of times that car did its circuit. But hey, the police are great and Englands green and pleasant land is green cos of the grass, not because off all the evaded tax monies from the spoilt little rich kids et al are floating serenely out to the coast in the direction of the channel islands.

      Treat people fairly and people will treat you the same. Treat your employees fairly, you'll get the same back. Treat your customers like something you scaped from your boot, lie to them, ignore their calls for help, then dodge the finger of blame when the corpses pile up, and you get the sort of feeling people have for the Police in general - and thence doeth the brown smelly stuff splat unto the round spinny thing - and you get the reason for the riots. THAT and that alone what was started the 'riots' - what followed was a mixture of amazing police inaction and the me too mentality. None of which I support, but all of which I prophesied to one of the Police down the local station 6 months ago. People will only take so much from their supposed protectors.

      The inaction itself makes me wonder - BBM being secure and all and amazingly quickly blamed for what in reality was another bunch of trigger happy gene hunt wannabes. Was it allowed to get worse so the PHBs could blame RIM, get all the daily fail readers to swallow it, and use their howls of gormless indignation as an excuse to get their greasy little fingers on BBM Decripts?

    2. Martin 71 Silver badge
      FAIL

      Yes, because discrimination's funny

      When it's a minority you're not part of.

  20. Sir Barry

    @Jema

    I have read your posts with interest.

    The amount of vitriol you show towards the police in the posts makes me think you may have an attitude problem which may manifest itself in real life.

    And that may be the problem.

    Have you sought professional help?

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Jemma

    Paganism? I have no opinion on it; AFAIK it's harmless so live and let live.

    Insanity, OTOH, should be dealt with by the medical profession.

  22. Bernard M. Orwell
    FAIL

    @Jemma

    Wake and get a grip on the real world!

    I doubt that the police, lacking magical psychic powers, can simply look at someone and say "Ooh, look, a L/G/B/T Pagan! I'm scared of that 'cos I haz a phobia! Let's ATTACK it!".

    Get real.

    What ARE you doing in a science journal anyway?

  23. Darryl Stark
    FAIL

    @Jemma

    So let me get this right, you openly wear a 12" blade strapped to your hip, and you wonder why the police take an interest in you?

  24. Mr Young
    Coat

    @Jemma - you do know, don't you?

    That you will need the cops to help you sometime in your life if not already? I know bad people can become cops - so what? Watch you don't stab yourself now? and you could also try the ASCII text link for middle finger training:-http://forum.ebaumsworld.com/showthread.php?t=121411

    Take care

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