Arrests made following disorder in Harehills, Leeds
West Yorkshire Police (WYP) said they've made "several arrests" following last night's violence in Harehils in Leeds.
Last updated 19th Jul 2024
Arrests have been made, following the disorder in Harehills, Leeds, on Thursday evening (19 July).
A bus was set on fire and a police car overturned amid unrest thought to have been sparked by an incident involving children and social care workers.
Assistant Chief Constable, of WYP Pat Twiggs said: “There has understandably been a great deal of speculation, commentary and concern following the disorder in Harehills, Leeds, overnight.
“Our officers responded to a call from Children’s Social Care at around 5pm yesterday (Thursday 18 July) after social workers reported being met with hostility when dealing with a child protection matter.
“Responding officers were attacked and helped Children’s Social Care staff withdraw to a place of safety.
"As the disorder escalated, damage was caused to vehicles and several fires set.
"We continually assessed the situation and took the decision to deploy specialist public order officers who then came under a barrage of bricks and missiles from a large group.
"A decision was taken to withdraw these officers temporarily as it was evident that the police was their sole target.
"This allowed for further community mediation to take place in order to calm the situation.
"Police then returned to the area with Fire colleagues to extinguish the remaining fires which were self-contained and didn’t pose a wider risk. By this point the crowd had diminished and officers were able to fully restore order.
"Throughout the night several arrests were made in relation to the disorder and further arrests will be made over the next few days.
"The force Major Enquiry Team have launched an investigation which will include reviewing CCTV and social media footage and images to identify the perpetrators.
"We will leave no stone unturned in our hunt for all those who were involved and will work closely with our criminal justice partners to bring them to justice."
Anyone who may have filmed any of the disorder is asked to upload any footage via the dedicated Public Portal.
A Major Incident Portal has been created where anyone with information, photos, video footage (including dashcam or doorbell footage) in relation to the disorder can submit it through this link: Public Portal (mipp.police.uk)
Anyone with any information can contact the force under Op Jerviswick or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
“It is important to recognise the disorder and damage was caused by a criminal minority intent on disrupting the community. Members of the community working in conjunction with our Key Individual Networks and Elected Members who were on the ground were trying to de-escalate the situation. They are also working alongside us and Leeds City Council today to clean-up the area.
"There will be a significant policing presence within Harehills over the weekend and future attempts to engage in crime and disorder will be met with a robust response.
“I would like to thank the Harehills community once again for their efforts and support.”