Some of the young people arrested after the Birmingham street riots have led difficult lives and should be shown compassion, a top police chief has insisted.
West Midlands Chief Constable Chris Sims said there was a need to be pragmatic about the way the offenders were dealt with.
Mr Sims told a special Birmingham City Council meeting that he had spoken personally to several of the youngsters detained after last week’s violent scenes.
He said: “I spent Saturday evening in the custody block at Steelhouse Lane Police Station. There are tragic offenders as well as tragic victims.
“Young people who have been in care for most of their lives.
“We need to show some compassion and be pragmatic about how we deal with these people.”
However, Mr Sims said it would be up to the courts to decide how to punish more than 500 alleged rioters, if they are found guilty.
He said: “There has to be a deterrent to stop people thinking they can behave like this in future.
“We will put everyone before the courts and it is up to the courts to decide how they are to be punished.”
The meeting saw tributes from councillors across the political divide to the bravery of the police and to the father of Haroon Jahan, one of three young men killed at Winson Green as they sought to protect a family business.
Mr Jahoon’s father, Tariq Jahan, won national recognition for calmly appealing for an end to the violence hours after his son was killed.
There are growing calls for a council-led public inquiry into last week’s riots, which saw more than two dozen shops ransacked and looted.
Opposition Labour councillors, who expect to take control of the city after next May’s civic elections, said they would launch a probe into the underlying conditions of high unemployment, poor housing and a lack of education that are thought to result in many young people feeling that they have no future.
Deputy Labour leader Ian Ward said: “Unemployment in some areas exceeds 30 per cent, generations of families have never worked and are never likely to work.
