Over two thousand arrested in UK riots

In an attempt to restore a sense of social order and to appease citizens appalled at the days of riots and looting throughout England, British police began arresting thousands of suspects today.

Courts in London, Birmingham and Manchester were reportedly working around the clock to process alleged hooligans, most on charges of robbery and vandalism.

So far London courts have charged almost 600 people, Al Jazeera reported today. Across the country, more than 1,700 people have been arrested as the chaos spread through several cities.

Boris Johnson, London mayor, said people in the city wanted to see "significant sentences" handed out to the guilty. Johnson was heavily criticized for returning late from a holiday to see London ablaze. Most recently he said the causes of the riots were not a "simple issue."

Police have arrested a 22-year-old man in West London on Friday in connection with the death of an elderly man who sustained injuries as he tried to put out a fire started by rioters in Ealing. Richard Mannington Bowes, 68, died of head injuries after he was rushed by ambulance to a west London hospital on Thursday, Al Jazeera reported.

David Cameron, the prime minister, has vowed "swift justice" for perpetrators, as courts were struggling to process all the defendants.

The prime minister told parliament that the government is looking at banning people from using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook if they are thought to be plotting criminal activity, the Guardian reported.

The prime minister said the government will review whether it is possible to stop suspected rioters from spreading online messages. However, it seems unlikely that a new internet monitoring policy would gain much traction even after the riots, with free speech advocates likely to accuse the government of ushering in a new wave of online censorship.

But Scotland Yard has made a string of arrests of people suspected of inciting the violence by using BlackBerry Messenger, Twitter and Facebook, the Guardian reported.

Meanwhile, police forces in Manchester and Birmingham are taking an innovative attempt to identify looters by displaying suspects faces on giant advertising billboards around the two cities.