From Aldershot to Southport, riots broke out in English towns and cities this summer. Mosques, homes, shops and cars were attacked. A library was looted. Drivers were stopped and interrogated about their ethnicity, police officers were attacked. In a matter of days, however, many rioters found themselves in court and the violence stopped abruptly.

Josh Halliday was in court to hear what many of the rioters, including children, said about why they had caused such havoc. He explains to Helen Pidd how the Guardian’s data team tracked the court filings of 500 rioters to glean information that helped build a picture of the people who terrified communities.

He reflects on how counter-protesters who created an “almost carnivalesque atmosphere” in some areas, may have helped to quell the violence. And he considers what lessons the government and police might take away. Keir Starmer has called the rioters “racist thugs”, but with the underlying anger and conflict over immigration issues unresolved, could such violence happen again?

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