What is Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘standing army’ – and will it work?
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer today announced a new “standing army” of specialist police officers to get a grip on the ongoing violence.
This is nothing to do with the actual army – which ministers have insisted is not required, because there are enough police to tackle the outbreaks.
Forces sending public order officers to other areas to cope with big events already happens regularly and is called “mutual aid.”
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Overseen by the National Police Chiefs Council, in the past few months various police forces have sent specialist officers to London to police pro-Palestine protests following the 7 October terrorist attacks.
These arrangements are also used to police big sporting competitions and national events such as the Queen’s funeral.
A senior Downing Street official said this “standing army” would be an enhanced version of mutual aid “so there are officers forward deployed to hot spots quicker”.
There are many thousands of public order officers, and police forces sound confident about their office numbers – although they will inevitably be diverted from other duties.
It’s not a new idea, but the prime minister insisted: “We will have the officers we need, where we need them.”
The next challenge will be bringing anyone arrested to justice, with the backlog of outstanding cases in the Crown courts and the Magistrates courts at a record high, according to figures released in June, and nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.
The sector blames a decline in criminal lawyers, court staff and the dilapidated state of many courts – all of which are long-term challenges.
Courts have not been asked to sit round the clock, as they did in response to the London riots in 2021. The chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Tana Adkin KC, has said they wouldn’t be able to, as the system is already “working at maximum capacity”.
However, the prime minister insisted these cases would be dealt with “swiftly”, with early naming and shaming of offenders at their first hearings.
Some of those involved pleaded guilty this morning and will be sentenced in September. This is quick, as many victims of crime are left waiting months or years for their cases to be heard.
Prisons are also nearly full, with hundreds of offenders being let out early to free up space. The prime minister said this situation was being closely monitored and those responsible for the violence would be punished.
The final part of the response is insisting that those committing crimes online, inciting violence, would also feel “the full force of the law”.
The science and technology secretary Peter Kyle said in a statement that as well as individuals being pursued, “social media has provided a platform for this hate” – strongly suggesting he will be asking the social media companies to go further in curbing the content they promote.
However when X proprietor Elon Musk is tweeting about “civil war” it looks tricky to see how they proceed. The prime minister’s spokesman also suggested hostile states may play a role.
Questions about whether the far-right activist Tommy Robinson – accused of stoking the riots while on holiday and claiming they are the result of “legitimate concerns” – should continue to post on these platforms, where he has some 800,000 followers, are continuing.
Mosques have already been offered funding for additional security from the home secretary, as Muslim communities have been targeted by violence.
The coming days and weeks will tell how quickly any of these measures will bring the wave of disorder under control.