Britain ! You also got wrong...

David O'Neill aged 22 attempts to avoid the waiting media as he runs from City of Westminster Magistrates' Court after he was released on bail, on charges relating to the London riots, August 11, 2011.

REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

The Britain police admitted they got their riot tactics wrong, the prime minister has said, as he announced measures to help homeowners and businesses.David Cameron told MPs the riots in cities across England were "criminality pure and simple", but there were "far too few police" on the streets.

He announced a crackdown on facemasks and a review of curfews during an emergency recall of Parliament.More than 1,500 arrests have been made since the unrest began on Saturday.

The prime minister earlier chaired a meeting of the government's emergency committee Cobra to discuss the violence with cabinet ministers.

Mr Cameron told MPs that it had become clear there had been problems in the initial police response to the disorder. Former Cabinet minister Sir Malcolm Rifkind also raised concerns that officers were instructed to "stand and observe looting". Mr Cameron told MPs: "There were simply far too few police deployed on to our streets and the tactics they were using weren't working."Police chiefs have been frank with me about why this happened. "Initially the police treated the situation too much as a public order issue - rather than essentially one of crime. "The truth is that the police have been facing a new and unique challenge with different people doing the same thing - basically looting - in different places all at the same time."

The prime minister promised he would do "whatever it takes" to restore order to the streets as he set out a range of measures aimed at helping businesses and homeowners affected by the riots.

They included:

To look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via social media when "we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality"

Plans to look at whether wider powers of curfew and dispersal orders were needed

New powers for police to order people to remove facemasks where criminality is suspected

Courts could be given tougher sentencing powers

Landlords could be given more power to evict criminals from social housing

Plans to extend the system of gang injunctions across the country and build on anti-gang programmes, similar to those in the US

He said the government would meet the cost of "legitimate" compensation claims and the time limit for applying would increase from 14 to 42 days

A £10m Recovery Scheme to provide additional support to councils in making areas "safe, clean and clear"



A new £20m high street support scheme to help affected businesses get back up and running quickly

Plans for the government to meet the immediate costs of emergency accommodation for families made homeless

He said: "This is a time for our country to pull together.



"To the law abiding people who play by the rules, and who are the overwhelming majority in our country, I say: the fightback has begun, we will protect you, if you've had your livelihood and property damaged, we will compensate you. We are on your side.



"And to the lawless minority, the criminals who have taken what they can get, I say this: We will track you down, we will find you, we will charge you, we will punish you. You will pay for what you have done."

Mr Cameron ruled out bringing in the Army, but added: "It is my responsibility to make sure that every contingency is looked at - including whether there are tasks that the Army could undertake that would free up more police for the front line."

He said a reinforced police presence of 16,000 officers on the streets of London would remain in place over the weekend.

(source...BBC news)