Using terrorism laws or declaring incidents of violent disorder around the country as terrorism “has not been, and will not be, ruled out”, a police chief has warned.
It comes after director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson suggested terrorism charges could be considered.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, which is supporting forces across the country as they respond to unrest by helping with intelligence gathering and planning among other measures, said: “We know that many people will feel vulnerable at this time and we are supporting local forces with protective security expertise and advice.
“We have seen terrible examples of violent crime, disorder and criminal damage, and charges are already being brought across the country. I am very clear that using terrorism legislation or declaring activity as terrorism has not been, and will not be, ruled out.
“Counter Terrorism Policing is actively assessing incidents to understand whether terrorism legislation should be applied and we will make those judgments without fear or favour.
“Our message to those involved in this disorder is; we are watching and we will not hesitate to use our powers to protect our communities.”
Mr Parkinson told the BBC on Tuesday: “Where you have organised groups planning activity for the purposes of advancing their ideology and meeting a political objective, and then planning, really, really serious disruption, then, yes, we will consider terrorism offences.”
The warnings have raised questions about how terrorism laws could be applied in practice and if the incidents seen so far could be defined as terrorism.
Police forces believe most of the disorder is being carried out by low-level criminals using the unrest as an excuse to commit crime and while not sophisticated, there has been some organising behind the events at a local level.
A police source said: “It’s a nuanced picture. There is a level of co-ordination, there is a level of planning.
“It’s not particularly sophisticated, there’s planning at a local level. There’s not necessarily planning by groups nationally or regionally.
“But a lot of what we’re seeing is locals reacting to what they’re seeing on social media, what they’re seeing outside in their streets, and just joining in.
“Quite a lot of forces have reported that it’s not actually right wing or left wing, sometimes a lot of it is actually just low-level criminals who they already know about joining the trouble, using it as an excuse to commit violence and looting.
“It’s a very nuanced picture, there isn’t a sort of level of sophistication that we’re seeing nationally. But, locally, there’s definitely some sort of organisation happening.”