Action over riots makes city “exemplar”

The way Plymouth dealt with violent unrest on the streets in the summer is an exemplar to the rest of the country, according to police and crime commissioner (PCC) Alison Hernandez.

She praised the city council’s action in taking preventative measures before the incident on Monday 5 August when anti-immigration and anti-racism protesters confronted each other in Royal Parade.

Plymouth was one of 27 towns and cities where riots and demonstrations were held, fuelled by false rumours that the suspect for killing three children in a knife attack in Southport was a Muslim asylum seeker.

Speaking at the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel, the commissioner said the civil unrest in the city, policed by 150 officers with riot shields, was mild compared to other locations around the country because “the community did not want to tolerate what was going to happen”.

She said most of the 25 people charged had nothing to do with hate crime but it constituted public disorder as people were attacking the police.

Three police officers sustained minor injuries, a police van was damaged and two members of the public were taken to hospital, bricks were torn from pavements and fireworks set off.

Police said at the time that their approach was to enable peaceful protests, but to deal robustly with people intent on committing public order or criminal offences.

Members of the Muslim community have been offered ongoing support by  city council cabinet members said that Plymouth is a united city, one that embraced and celebrated diversity and all communities.

Councillors described the unrest as “thuggery on tour” claiming many people from outside the city came  in to make trouble.

However, all of those charged in connection with the Plymouth disturbances were from the city, except one from Torquay and another from Tavistock.

Recently the council voted to enhance community cohesion in Plymouth and said the riots were “not a true reflection of the Janner spirit”.

Commissioner Hernandez said: “Plymouth has done a really great job in response to what has happened in our city.

“I want to thank them because I am very grateful to represent an area where we have fantastic integration of our communities and Plymouth is an exemplar of that I think nationally about how we do work together as a cohesive community.”

She said the city did not have as much as an uplift in hate crime after the incident as some other areas and had not reacted negatively to the protests.

But Cllr Chris Penberthy (Lab, St Peter and the Waterfront) said there is an undercurrent of negative behaviour from a minority towards people from different backgrounds.

“It’s the bit we need to tackle,” he said.

The number of recorded hate crimes per year has risen from 1,764 in June 2019 to 2,299 in August 2024 across Devon and Cornwall.

The commissioner’s performance report to the panel said an increase in offences could be interpreted positively, because victims may be more confident to report to the police, or the police may have made recording improvements when identifying hate offences.

Conversely, the trend could also be interpreted negatively because it could reflect an increase in victimisation.

The commissioner will continue to monitor hate crime closely as more consistent data becomes available, said the report.