London riots: What could happen next?

David Cameron has announced that an emergency parliamentary debate will be held on Thursday to discuss possible measures to quell the capital’s worst spell of widespread looting and disorder since Brixton in 1981.

With pressure mounting on Home Secretary Theresa May by fellow MPs to impose more draconian measures to stop the violence - here are some of the anti-riot tactics that are being considered so far.

More police

With over 6,000 police out in force last night from across the country (an extra 1,700 police officers from Sunday night) a total of 16,000 police officers will be on duty in the next 24 hours, the Twitter account for the Metropolitan Police warned. Scotland Yard has confirmed that 44 officers have been injured in the waves of ‘copycat criminal activity’ have been been spreading across London. Monday night was classed as the worst night of violence with a reported 20,000 calls to police and 200 arrests last night.

Met Police said in a statement that they used riot vans to push back London protesters on the third night of unrest in London and video footage from last night’s rioting in Clapham Junction, south London, shows armoured police vans being driven into crowds of perpetrators – an apparently successful approach.

Following an emergency meeting chaired by the Prime Minister today, David Cameron said more police will mean further arrests and court procedures will be speeded up. He warned: “Justice will be done and these people will see the consequences of their actions.”

The Metropolitan Police also confirmed today that all police leave has been cancelled and custody suites are full.

Curfews

Met commissioner Tim Godwin made a public statement today asking for a voluntary nighttime curfew and urged parents to do more to keep track of their children. Patrick Mercer, a Tory MP and former Army officer, amongst other MPs is calling for a temporary curfew on young people to curtail the riots.

Diane Abbott, a shadow minister and the Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, also agreed with the imposition of curfews: “These young people, who seem to have no stake in society, are trashing their own communities. We cannot continue to have increasing numbers of looters on the streets night after night.”

Online polls have seen a majority of the public believing imposing curfews would be a suitable response to the current situation.

[Video:Injured boy mugged during riots]

Army

Bringing in the army as a measure of riot control has not been seen in England before. During the Los Angeles riots in 1992, 12,000 soldiers from the California Army National Guard were drafted in to quiet the unrest. Similarly the British army were present in Northern Ireland during the troubles.

In a Home Office statement, Theresa May said: “We can deal with it with robust policing and with the help of local communities. If there's anybody watching the programme who knows someone who was out on the streets, they should tell the police.

“Police are adapting tactics to deal with disturbances and I met with them this morning to ensure they have what they need.”

Others would disagree. On Twitter, local London MP Grahame Morris tweeted: “Recall parliament: Cancel police leave; Bring in army logistical support for 999 services: Appeal to get kids off the streets: Stop the cuts.”

Until emergency measures are properly discussed in a ministerial debate due to be held on Thursday, it is still unknown whether military presence will be called upon.

Water cannons

Water cannons like those used during the American civil rights movement, sectarian violence in Northern Ireland and 1930’s pre-Nazi Germany have also been rumoured as a possible tactic to prevent the disorder.

Former London mayor Ken Livingstone reportedly believes that police should be allowed to use the weapon to disperse protesters. “The issue of water cannons would be very useful given the level of arson we are seeing here.”

However, the Home Office insisted last night that there were no plans to approve the use of the extreme device on riot mobs, saying: “Water cannons are not approved for use on the mainland by the Home Office. A range of measures are available to the police to tackle disorder and we do not believe water cannons are needed.”

A Scotland Yard spokesman also said officers did not have any water cannons. If their use was approved, they would have to be brought over from Northern Ireland or France where they are used.

BlackBerry Messenger probe

Research in Motion has pledged to cooperate with the police to probe the role BlackBerry Messenger had in spiraling the disorder and to find the people responsible for inciting the looting and violence. It was revealed yesterday that London rioters used Blackberry Messenger to spread the word about looting sprees across the capital and the violence later seen Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol.

BlackBerry UK said: “"We feel for those impacted by the riots in London. We have engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can.”