London riots one year on: Redbridge Police speak of investigation

A year on from the riots which shocked London, a Redbridge detective has spoken to the Recorder about how the borough’s police reacted to the disorder.

After the two main days of trouble in the borough on August 8 and 9, when a number of commercial properties in High Road, Ilford, and Ilford Lane were burgled, acting Det Chief Insp Neil Lemon said police priorities changed.

A dedicated CCTV inquiry team trawled through 3,000 hours of footage to identify suspects and Mr Lemon said footage from mobile telephones and social media sites also helped investigations.

In Redbridge, 78 suspects, two-thirds of who were aged 15 to 20, were charged with 112 separate offences.

The youngest person charged was 12 years old and the oldest 47.

Mr Lemon said: “Community reassurance was a key element of the post event strategy with teams from the local Safer Neighbourhoods, town centre and community police teams working closely with our partners to reassure the public.”

The borough also supplied five staff members to Operation Withern, which investigated the riots, when it moved to Chingford, Essex, in December.

Mr Lemon said “community engagement processes” with the business community and the public had also been improved.