The continued crackdown on those alleged to have taken part in the UK riots earlier this month has seen the arrest of an 11-year-old child, the believed youngest suspect detained so far in the country.
Cleveland Police announced on Wednesday that an 11-year-old has been arrested over disorder in the North Yorkshire town of Middlesbrough on the 4th of August in the wake of a mass stabbing that saw three young girls killed at a dance party in Southport.
The child was among 15 arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of violent disorder in connection to the outbreak of unrest in the town.
According to the BBC, the arrests came after 40 detectives scoured body cam data, CCTV footage, and social media to identify suspects.
“Teams of officers headed out this morning to target those believed to be involved in the disorder,” the police force said. “The ages of those arrested were between 11 years old and 43 years old.”
In total, Cleveland Police have arrested 110 people so far in connection to the riots. Across the country, there have been over 1,000 arrests and over 520 people charged with connected offenses by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Commenting on the raids on Wednesday, Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Robinson, who led the operation for the Cleveland Police, said per Sky News: “The message is ‘You haven’t got away with it’.”
“We can identify you and we will arrest you, you will be arrested and you will be put before the courts.
“Behind every crime there is a victim and some of the stories that we have been told have been really harrowing.”