Riot figures reveal scale of ‘criminals on rampage’

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said the statistics confirmed that “existing criminals were on the rampage” last month.

The details were published as Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said the middle-classes ignored the plight of people living on run-down council estates for years and then paid the price when the inner city “came to call” in last month’s violence and looting.

Each of those involved in the riots who had committed at least one offence previously had committed an average of 15, the figures showed.

These included an average of nine for serious indictable offences and six for less serious summary or breach offences.

Of the 16,598 previous offences committed by those accused of being involved in the riots, one in four was for theft and handling of stolen goods, one in ten was for drugs offences and more than one in 20 were for violence against the person.

The figures also showed more than half of juveniles had committed one or more previous offences.

Overall, one in four people charged in connection with the riots had committed more than ten previous offences.

Of all offenders who had received a reprimand, warning, caution or sentence for an indictable offence last year, almost one in two had committed ten or more previous offences.