Latest news with #violentdisorder
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Two more men charged after protest outside migrant hotel in Epping
Two more men have been charged with violent disorder following a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Essex earlier this month. Multiple demonstrations have been held outside The Bell Hotel in Epping since July 13 after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Phillip Curson, 52, and Martin Peagram, 33, are due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Essex Police had previously sought to speak to the two in relation to the protest outside The Bell Hotel on July 17. Rebecca Mundy, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS East of England said: 'The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Essex Police to charge a further two people following the recent disorder in Epping. 'This brings the total number of individuals charged by the CPS in relation to these matters to nine. 'I would like to remind all concerned that there are active criminal proceedings against all named individuals, and they have the right to a fair trial. There must be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that may in any way prejudice these proceedings.' The protest on July 17 began peacefully but escalated into what officers described as 'scattered incidents of violence' targeting police and property. The force previously said a small number of people used that demonstration as cover to commit violent disorder and criminal damage. Eight officers were injured and a number of police vehicles were damaged as missiles were thrown. Those previously charged by the CPS in relation to disorder outside the Epping hotel are: – Shaun Thompson, 37, of Western Avenue, Epping, with violent disorder and criminal damage.– Lee Gower, 43, of High Street, Epping, with violent disorder and assault by beating of an emergency worker.– Aaron Elles, 28, of The Lawn, Harlow with violent disorder.– Jonathan Glover, 47, of Springfields, Waltham Abbey, with violent disorder.– Stuart Williams, 36, of Duck Lane, Thornwood, Epping, with violent disorder.– Keith Silk, 33, of Torrington Drive, Loughton, with violent disorder and criminal damage.– Dean Smith, 51, of Madells, Epping, with violent disorder. Elles, who has pleaded guilty to violent disorder, is next due to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on August 25 while the remaining six are due to attend the same court on August 18.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Domestic abuse and public violence: will the state now accept the two go hand in hand?
The idea that violent men seek out fresh opportunities to attack people and property is hardly news. That one form of violence is a predictor of others, on the other hand, has yet to be fully recognised by the criminal justice system. If that were not the case, domestic abuse would be treated as the red flag it undoubtedly is, requiring much more effective identification, prosecution and management of offenders. The latest example of violence in the home spilling into the streets comes from last summer's riots. Two out of every five people arrested – 41% of the 899 individuals arrested for taking part in violent disorder, to be exact – had previously been reported to the police for domestic abuse, according to data obtained by the Guardian. The offences they were accused of included actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, stalking, breach of restraint and non-molestation orders, coercive control and criminal damage. In some areas where violence broke out on the streets, the figure was as high as 68%. In Rotherham, where 75 people were arrested after rioters set fire to an asylum hotel, 35 turned out to have been previously reported to the police for domestic abuse. The irony is unmissable: in some towns, many of the men who claimed to be protesting about the savage murders of three little girls at a dance class in Southport had themselves been accused of attacking women. The profoundly misogynist rampage that killed Elsie Dot Stancombe, Bebe King and Alice da Silva Aguiar was hijacked, in other words, by 'protesters' some of whose own record of behaviour towards women doesn't stand up to a moment's scrutiny. There are two other statistics that need to be considered here. The 41% figure maps almost exactly on to the proportion of terrorist suspects who were revealed to have a history of domestic abuse by Project Starlight, a joint research project undertaken by counter-terrorism policing and the Home Office in 2021. Initial analysis of 420 individuals considered vulnerable to radicalisation by extremists showed that 39% had a link to a domestic abuse-related incident, either as an offender, victim or witness. This is much higher than the figure for the population at large. It's also important to remember that domestic abuse is an underreported crime. Victims are afraid to go to the police, fearing further violence from the perpetrator or that they will not be believed. They are right to be pessimistic: in the case of last year's riots, police reports show that fewer than a quarter of the individuals accused of domestic abuse before the Southport protests had ever been charged. This is nothing short of catastrophic. It's alarming for victims, who have to live with the threat of a revenge attack by a man who has nothing to fear from the police. But it also creates a sense of impunity among perpetrators who think, correctly, that they have got away with serious offences. Many of the individuals who joined the disorder last summer would already have been familiar with the criminal justice process; they had been interviewed, perhaps even confronted with evidence in the form of statements from wives or girlfriends and photographs of injuries. Yet the bar for prosecution is set so high, and victims are so lacking in support, that most men accused of domestic abuse never see the inside of a courtroom. The impact on their confidence, and propensity to commit further offences, is rarely considered, even though we know that perpetrators become bolder when they are not charged or convicted. It 'legitimises' violence as an outlet for their rage and habituates them to the effects of abuse, seriously diminishing their capacity to feel sympathy for the people they hurt. That goes for current and future partners, victims of terrorist attacks and, in the case of last year's riots, asylum seekers who were an easy target during a national outpouring of rage and grief. There is now an unanswerable case for treating domestic abuse as a 'gateway' offence, very much like indecent exposure. For decades, such behaviour was trivialised as 'flashing' and received wisdom was that it didn't lead to anything else. We now know that could not be further from the truth, a reality demonstrated by the rape and murder of Sarah Everard in 2021. Her killer, Wayne Couzens, had been reported for exposing himself on a number of occasions, but the offences were not properly investigated. He didn't even lose his job as a serving police officer. Another man, Abdul Ezedi, was convicted of indecent exposure and sexual assault at Newcastle crown court in 2018. He was sentenced to 36 weeks in prison for the exposure offence and nine weeks for the sex attack, but both sentences were suspended. In 2024, he drove to London where he threw a corrosive substance in the face of a former partner, causing 'life-changing' injuries. His body was later found in the Thames. What's urgently needed is a revolution in the way domestic abuse is understood and handled by the criminal justice system. Allowing abusive men to avoid convictions is a failure of justice for their victims, but it also has terrifying implications for society as a whole. A domestic abuser register, along the lines of the sex offender register, would protect women by allowing monitoring of perpetrators released on licence. But it's not just the partners of such men who need to be protected. As last summer's scenes of burning buildings and police cars showed, dangerous men are not choosy about their targets. A year on, the link between private and public violence has never been clearer. Joan Smith is an author, journalist and a former chair of the mayor of London's VAWG board. Her latest book is Unfortunately, She Was a Nymphomaniac: A New History of Rome's Imperial Women Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Nine men arrested after Wolverhampton disorder
Police have arrested nine men following disorder in Wolverhampton in the early hours of Sunday Midlands Police say they responded to reports of a group fighting with weapons on Parkfield Road, shortly after men were taken to hospital with potentially serious injuries, according to the said their investigation was at an early stage but the nine would be questioned on suspicion of violent disorder. Officers remain at the scene and patrols around the local area will continue, the force with information is asked by police to call 101. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Epping asylum hotel protests see two more in court
Two more men have appeared in court charged with committing violent disorder during demonstrations outside a hotel used to house asylum of people have attended protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, on four different occasions this Magistrates' Court heard that Shaun Thompson, 37, of Western Avenue, Epping, was allegedly identified on footage jumping on police vehicles and punching windows on 17 Police said a total of nine people had been charged with offences. Prosecutor George Dixon said Mr Thompson damaged property belonging to a Metropolitan Police officer in Epping which was either "reckless or intentional".He caused £1,000 in damage, he Thompson pleaded guilty to criminal damage, but not guilty to violent disorder, and he was released on was told not to go within 100m of The Bell Elles, 28, of The Lawn, Harlow, pleaded guilty to committing violent disorder and possessing cannabis on 17 July. He was remanded into defendants are due again at Chelmsford Crown Court on 18 August, where they are expected to appear alongside other men accused of offences related to the demonstrations. Crowds gathered outside the Epping Forest District Council offices and outside the hotel on Thursday Chief Constable Stuart Hooper said he was "really grateful" to people in Epping who made their voices heard "peacefully".The protests - against the use of the hotel - have followed a man living in the hotel being arrested, and subsequently charged, with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual Kebatu, 41, from Ethiopia, has denied the offences and is in custody. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Fifth man charged after Alfreton Road street fight
A fifth man has been charged after violent disorder broke out in a Nottingham were called to Alfreton Road at 23:55 BST on 2 July to reports a group of men were involved in a street fight involving metal poles and glass man suffered a potentially life-altering injury to his head and remains in hospital, while another person was injured, said Nottinghamshire Arfali, 43, of Princes Road, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, has been charged with violent disorder and robbery. Four people have previously been charged by the force including Bendr Omar, 23, of Meadow Lane, Sneinton, who is accused of attempted murder and violent Ali, 29, of Meadow Lane, Sneinton, and Aso Mohammad, 34, of Noel Street, Hyson Green, have both been charged with grievous bodily harm and violent disorder, while Amine Mohamad, 43, of no fixed address, is charged with violent disorder.
