Hundreds of rioters have been jailed for last summer’s protests (Image: Getty)
Judges have handed prison sentences totalling 100 years to rioters who hit the streets of after three girls were murdered in the seaside town last year.
Courts also jailed people who posted unlawful messages about the crimes on social media for a total of 39 years.
They are among the hundreds of jail sentences given to violent protestors who joined unrest in towns and cities across the UK in July 2024 following the knife attack by Axel Rudakubana, analysis by the can reveal.
The 18-year-old is due to be after he admitted killing Elsie Stancombe, aged 7, Bebe King, 6, and 9-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, attempting to murder eight other children and two adults, and terrorism offences.
Analysis of more than 400 reported sentencing hearings linked to the riots shows that the average jail sentence for rioters has been just over 24 months.
However, the 43 people who have been jailed for joining the violent protests in Southport received longer prison terms, jailed for an average of 28 months.
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The survey of court reports and statements by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service also shows that at least 22 people have been sent to prison for messages they posted on social media, resulting in prison terms totalling 39 years.
The toughest sentences have been given to those who took part in riots over 100 miles away from Southport – in Tamworth – which included a mob attack on a Holiday Inn Express hotel with petrol bombs and missiles.
The seven people jailed so far over protests in Tamworth have received an average term of 35 months behind bars. One man who pleaded guilty to rioting and assaulting an emergency worker at Tamworth was given a jail term of six years and 17 weeks.
By contrast, the protesters who joined disturbances in Whitehall, London, have received sentences averaging 13 months – less than half the term length handed down in Rotherham, Tamworth and Southport.
Despite hundreds of arrests and charges, some communities who witnessed their towns being trashed during major riots last August have so far only seen a handful of people being sent to prison.
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The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary did not respond to a request for a comment on the regional variation in average prison terms and the number of rioters jailed.
The busiest courtrooms have been in South Yorkshire, where a total of 57 people have been jailed for their part in unrest in Rotherham, which included an attack on another hotel which was housing asylum seekers.
Judges have handed down sentences totalling 148 years to rioters in Rotherham.
According to statistics published last month by the Ministry of Justice, there have been a total of 494 defendants sentenced to immediate custody for their roles in the riots last summer and more cases have been dealt with since the start of the year.
The average jail term given to rioters in cases which have been publicly reported is just over 24 months, which would mean the total prison time handed down is likely to total over 1000 years.
No official record of court sentencing decisions is published by the government but analysis of more than 400 cases which have been reported by journalists in court or in statements by the police and CPS shows how judges have dealt with the rioters in different parts of the country.
Based on the survey of 416 sentencing hearings which have been publicly reported, this is a summary of the jail terms issued for riots around the country in locations where five or more people have been given prison terms (the total is for all locations):
Riot location,Total jailed, Total sentence, Average sentence length
Rotherham, 57, 148 years, 31 months
Southport, 43, 100 years, 28 months
Bristol, 34, 70 years, 25 months
Manchester, 32, 61 years, 23 months
Hull, 29, 73 years, 30 months,
Social media, 22, 39 years, 21 months
Middlesbrough, 21, 36 years, 21 months
Hartlepool, 20, 36 years, 22 months
Plymouth, 17, 34 years, 24 months
Sunderland, 16, 37 years, 27 months
Leeds, 16, 26 years, 19 months
Stoke-on-Trent, 15, 35 years, 28 months
Whitehall, 14, 16 years, 13 months
Liverpool, 13, 27 years, 25 months
Bolton, 12, 26 years, 26 months
Tamworth, 7, 21 years, 35 months
Aldershot, 6, 11 years, 23 months
Weymouth, 5, 7 years, 18 months
Nottingham, 5, 2 years, 4 months
Grand Total 416 848 years 24 months
The following areas have all had fewer than five reported cases of people jailed in connection with the riots: Oldham, Darlington, Belfast, Southampton, Scarborough, Leicester, Cannock, Widnes, Northampton, Durham, Doncaster, Chatham, Brighton, Birmingham, Barnsley
Analysis of court reports and police statements shows that while many cases were dealt with rapidly after the riots were quelled, the judicial process has slowed down in recent months.
Of the 416 rioters sentenced to time in prison in reported cases so far, only 22 are women.
The average age of the rioters jailed to date is 33.6 years old and the large majority of those jailed were convicted of a charge of violent disorder.
The youngest person to be convicted of violent disorder is a 13 year old girl. An 81-year-old man is believed to be the oldest rioter to be convicted. He was given a 28-day suspended sentence after he admitted assaulting a man during protests in Nottingham.