Greater Manchester

Riots: Greater Manchester Police dishes out Tweet justice

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

August 12, 2011 | 2 min read

Greater Manchester Police has used its Twitter account to name and shame those convicted of playing a part in the riots that swept the streets of Salford and Manchester on Tuesday night.

As of yesterday more than 60 people involved in looting and disorder had been dealt with by Manchester's courts. Greater Manchester Police decided to name them on their Twitter account - @gmpolice - to show that justice is being done.

"We promised we'd name all those convicted for their roles in the disorder - here we go ...," the force tweeted, before reeling off a succession of names, addresses dates of births and charges.

They included a Salford man who was jailed for four months for theft after being found with a stolen violin and others who were caught stealing and assaulting officers.

This public display of justice prompted Piers Morgan to tell his million Twitter followers to "Follow @gmpolice right now - best Twitter feed of the year."

Other less famous Twitter users were critical of the force's transparency. In response, gmpolice tweeted: "Lot of debate about publishing details - courts very clear, justice should be done publicly."

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