Prosecutions of those under 18 related to public disorder in Rotherham August 2024

Request

You requested the following information:

1. Number of people under the age of 18 prosecuted in relation to the riots at the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on 4 August 2024.
2. The individual ages of those under the age of 18 prosecuted in relation to the riots at the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on 4 August 2024.
3. Number of people under the age of 18 prosecuted in relation to the riots in Hull on 3 August 2024.
4. The individual ages of those under the age of 18 prosecuted in relation to the riots in Hull on 3 August 2024.

Response

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds some information within the scope of your request.

The CPS has a record of defendants prosecuted by CPS Yorkshire and Humberside where the Extraordinary Event monitoring flag (post Southport public disorder) has been applied to the case for the period August to September 2024. Of these cases, 15 involved prosecutions of defendants under the age of 18.

To identify the specific information you have requested in relation to ages and location, we have undertaken a manual review of case files for these 15 prosecutions. Based upon this manual review we can provide the following information:

The CPS has a record of nine prosecutions of defendants under the age of 18 relating to disorder in Hull City Centre on 3 August 2024. Of these, three were aged 17, five were aged 16 and one was aged 13.

The CPS has a record of five prosecutions of defendants under the age of 18 relating to disorder in Rotherham on 4 August 2024. Of these, three were aged 17, one was aged 15 and one was aged 14.

Please consider this information in conjunction with the definitions and caveats set out below.

Definitions

Extraordinary Event monitoring flag:

This flag should be applied to cases where there are any offences linked to the disorder following the incident in Southport on the 29 of July 2024. The flag will apply both to pre-charge and post-charge cases and, as with all monitoring flags, will remain applied during the life of the case.

The flag is not limited to offences of violent disorder but applies to all disorder and potential offences including (but are not limited to):

• Offences created by the Public Order Act 1986 including racially and religiously aggravated offences (Crime and Disorder Act)
  Incitement to racial or religious hatred (stirring up offences)
• Criminal damage – such as arson, destroying property e.g. walls, breaking windows
• Explosives offences – such as throwing, making/manufacturing, possessing
• Throwing corrosive fluids
• Murder
• Assaults
• Possession of offensive weapons / bladed articles
• Theft and burglary offences – such as looting
• Communications offences relating to the disorder (including grossly offensive messages)

The flag applies to all disorder offending and is not limited to members of any specific group. It will apply equally to any disorder from groups or individuals who involve themselves in the disorder where opposing views may be aired.

Data Caveats

1. CPS data are available through its Case Management System (CMS) and associated Management Information System (MIS).  The CPS collects data to assist in the effective management of its prosecution functions.  The CPS does not collect data that constitutes official statistics as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.  
2. Some or all of the information you requested under the FOI Act has been collated by undertaking a manual search of the CPS’ Case Management System using unique reference numbers supplied from the department’s Management Information System.  As with any large-scale recording system, both the CMS and MIS systems are subject to possible errors with data entry, processing and the manual searches undertaken.
3. The official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office (HO) and the official statistics relating to sentencing, criminal court proceedings, offenders brought to justice, the courts and the judiciary are maintained by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).