A total of 490 crimes were reported in the West Midlands during the summer riots, an official inquiry into the violence revealed today.

And latest figures show just over half of the rioters and looters who have come before the courts have been jailed, with the rest getting community sentences.

A national panel was set up to find out why rioters took to the streets of Wolverhampton, West Bromwich and Birmingham as well as London and other parts of the country. An interim report by panel chairman Darra Singh has now been published.

It showed there were 81 individual crimes in Wolverhampton and 46 in West Bromwich on August 9 as well as 363 in Birmingham over two days of violence in which three men died in a hit and run collision while protecting their community.

Crimes included theft, arson, criminal damage, violent disorder, robbery and burglary.

So far 716 people have been arrested and 163 have been charged and dealt with by the courts in the region.

Nationally, out of the 622 people who have been dealt with by the courts, just over half – 53 per cent – were jailed. One in 10 were acquitted or had their cases thrown out.

Traders and residents watched scenes of looting, arson, violence and vandalism in the region, which saw shops damaged and tens of thousands of pounds worth of stock stolen.

More than 50 West Midlands Police officers are still involved with the riot investigation, while the cost of policing the region’s violence is due to hit £10 million.

The police authority may also have to fork out up to £8m to reimburse businesses that were affected when trouble flared.

The figures emerged in an interim report by the Riots Communities and Victims Panel, called Five Days In August.

Mr Singh, former chief executive of JobCentrePlus, came to Wolverhampton in October to talk to traders and young people.

He said: “By directly engaging with individuals in affected communities, we were able to build a picture as to why the riots might have happened.”

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