Police open database to identify disorder suspects

An online database has been launched in order to enable members of the public to identify people who took part in riots last year

A new public database has been launched by police, to help track down and identify those involved in last year's riots.

Police have uploaded images of dozens of people suspected of committing serious disorder offences in Sunderland, in the hope members of the public will share details about the people they recognise.

Northumbria Police said it had collected 10,000 hours of CCTV footage from 2 August 2024, which the force had subsequently scoured to find suspects with their faces uncovered.

Det Ch Insp Graeme Barr said about 1,000 people had arrived in the city during the riots, of whom about 150 committed serious disorder offences.

"The challenge was to find those who had their faces covered while they were committing those offences, and then find them elsewhere in the footage with their faces uncovered," he said.

"We are approaching 100 arrests for the disorder in Sunderland, and we think we've probably got between 50 and 60 more people who we need to identify and then go out and arrest."

Police are looking for a suspect who threw fire extinguishers at police during the Sunderland riots

The police announced the launch of the database on BBC One's Crimewatch.

It lists pictures of suspects taken from CCTV footage during the riots, in areas including Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Southport and Bristol.

Each suspect has been given their own page, and members of the public who recognise them can provide details to the police using adjoining text boxes.

Det Ch Insp Barr said the force was particularly interested in identifying one man who was seen throwing fire extinguishers at police officers and vehicles.

The suspect is described as well-built, with a brown beard and a sleeve tattoo on his left arm.

Det Ch Insp Barr said all those who had been charged by the police pleaded guilty before they stood trial.

"We are just approaching 50 years in total of sentences handed out so far," he said.