Police data reveals that 41% of 899 people arrested for participating in last summer's riots had previously been reported for domestic abuse, according to freedom of information requests. The figures, obtained from 21 police forces across England and Northern Ireland, show overlaps between public violent disorder and domestic violence.
In Bristol, over two-thirds of the 60 arrests involved individuals with prior domestic abuse reports. Cleveland Police reported 44 out of 107 arrests in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough had such records, while in Rotherham, 35 of 75 arrests were linked to domestic abuse. Sunderland saw 38 of 91 arrests with prior reports.
Previous offences include actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, stalking, breach of restraint and non-molestation orders, controlling coercive behaviour, and criminal damage. Examples include Joshua Lane, a former serviceman jailed for violent disorder who had a suspended sentence for stalking and battery, and Ethan Armstrong, jailed for violent disorder after a prior conviction for causing actual bodily harm to an ex-girlfriend.
The riots, sparked by the murder of three young girls in Southport on 29 July 2024, involved 27 towns and cities. Axel Rudakubana was jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the murders. The data comes amid ongoing debates about protests outside asylum hotels, with police issuing dispersal orders in Epping after demonstrations.
Isabella Lowenthal-Isaacs, policy manager at Women's Aid, said: 'A year on from the terrible Southport attacks on young girls, and as conversation about far-right protests once again starts to appear in the media, it is concerning to see the link between domestic abuse and public disorder.'
