'Tear up the sentencing guidelines and jail EVERY looter': Crackdown on looters revealed

Two thirds of 1,179 defendants remanded in custody

By Louise Boyle

Magistrates have been ordered to send all those involved in last week's riots and looting to jail, a court heard today.

Chair of the bench at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court, Novello Noades, revealed the instructions while sentencing one looter to six months in prison.

London courts had allegedly been emailed by a clerk within HM Courts and Tribunals Service, telling them to ignore normal guidelines which might have recommended non-custodial sentences for riot-related cases.

Almost two thirds of the 1,179 defendants appearing before the courts on charges relating to last week's disturbances have been remanded in custody.

The 65 per cent remand rate compares with just ten per cent for serious offences in 2010, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The majority of charges related to burglary, theft and handling, violence and violent disorder offences.

Tonight,Scotland Yard revealed that the number of people charged in relation to the London riots has now reached 940, while the number of arrests in the capital also swelled over the weekend, reaching 1,635.

The new figures in relation to disorder and looting in London were released as Scotland Yard said extra officers would continue to police the streets.

Over the weekend approximately 16,000 police officers were on duty over a 24-hour period. Extra officers are also out tonight, providing a 'highly visible presence' as the policing operation continues.

Ms Noades said: 'Our directive for anyone involved in the rioting is a custodial sentence. That is the directive we have had - it is a very serious matter.'

Father of three Daniel Anderson, 25, was jailed after two stolen guitars, an amplifier, flatscreen TV and hair clippers that were taken from a Croydon shop were found at his flat.

His solicitor made a request for probation but Mrs Noades said all those involved in the trouble on London's streets would be jailed.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026239/UK-riots-Tear-sentencing-guidelines-jail-EVERY-looter-magistrates-told.html