How the Southport bomber’s terrorism charge undermines trust in the police

“The police found themselves in a difficult situation and, in my opinion, they dealt with it in a quite simple and credible way,” says Andrew Chadwick, professor of political communication at Loughborough University. “They released (a statement) quickly. It was obvious that they were trying to control the situation and express themselves as clearly as possible without violating the regulations. But you could see the agony they felt because they saw how inflammatory the situation could be.”

Last week, an Ofcom report found a “clear link” between social media posts and the violent riots that followed. In an open letter, Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes wrote: “Posts about the Southport incident and subsequent events published by high-profile accounts reached millions of users, demonstrating the role that virality and algorithmic recommendations can play in creating divisive narratives in society . “period of crisis”. According to the Council of the Chief Commander of Police, since July 29, the police have so far made a total of 1,590 arrests and laid a total of 1,015 charges. More than 200 people were sentenced, most of them to prison, with the average sentence being two years.

There has been fierce debate about whether some conditions are disproportionate, fueled by the recent death Peter LynchA 61-year-old grandfather who apparently took his own life in prison 10 days ago while serving a sentence of two years and eight months for disorderly conduct.

“It’s clear that the police are dealing with an extremely difficult situation,” adds Chadwick. “I think we’re moving towards a new type of settlement where police will perhaps be more confident in pursuing these types of cases.” Part of the problem, he adds, is that social media sites increasingly encourage users to prioritize clicks and eye time, even at the expense of accuracy. In particular, since Elon Musk bought Twitter, the platform he renamed X, he has been strongly pursuing a pro-free speech agenda and also introducing an ad-sharing model in which users can be paid to generate engagement.

“In such conditions, the police will have difficulty assessing the development of the situation,” says Chadwick. “Because people are incentivized to not only take part in it, create a buzz, but also earn revenue. I think there needs to be a greater sense of responsibility.”