Majority of Midlands rioters had previous convictions
Nearly four in five people charged over the riots that swept across Wolverhampton, West Bromwich and Birmingham had previous convictions, the region's top policeman revealed today.
Nearly four in five people charged over the riots that swept across Wolverhampton, West Bromwich and Birmingham had previous convictions, the region's top policeman revealed today.
West Midlands Chief Constable Chris Sims said some 622 people had been arrested so far in connection with the disorder – 75 per cent of whom already had a criminal record.
He warned rioters should not be abandoned in prison but rehabilitated to prevent further reoffending.
"I said on the first morning that this was more about greed than anger, and I still think that," he told MPs on the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee.
"But we can't simply leave it to punishment. I think we need to find ways of actually bettering the people that we punish.
"Prisons are not just about punishment, they are about rehabilitation."