Thousands more people could face police action for criminal behaviour linked to the Union flag protests in Northern Ireland, a senior detective has warned.
Police have pledged to hunt down those responsible as it emerged that commanders are in discussions with the body that adjudicates on contentious parades in the region to establish if it can make a ruling on a mass flag demonstration that has been taking place in Belfast on recent Saturdays.
If the Parades Commission considers that the loyalist event falls within its remit, it could issue a determination that would limit its route.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has also revealed that two senior detectives from the Metropolitan Police who led the investigation into the London riots in 2011 have been called in to advise the 70-strong PSNI inquiry team dealing with the ongoing situation.
Since the controversy erupted in early December - when Belfast City Council voted to limit the number of days to flag flies over City Hall - 174 people have been arrested and 124 have been charged. A total of 127 police officers have been injured in rioting linked to the dispute.
Detective Superintendent Sean Wright, who is leading the investigation, predicted that many more people would come before the courts as his team turned to the task of examining footage taken at scenes of disorder.
“What I can say quite clearly is we have hundreds of hours of evidence gathered and CCTV coverage that we have yet to process and we are in the process of working through that, and I would expect that we will have many arrests to come,” he said.
He said action would be taken not only against those who have been involved in rioting but also those who have been blocking roads.
“Blocking the road is a criminal act,” he said. “If you are obstructing the highway we will be investigating that.
“If you want to attack police, if you want to throw petrol bombs at them, if you want to throw fireworks at them - those are criminal acts. My team will investigate all of those and through our work with the Public Prosecution Service and through the various mechanisms we have for disposing of the different cases, we will come to some arrangement whereby as many people as possible feel and understand the consequences of their actions.”
Asked if that could involve thousands of people, Mr Wright replied: “Potentially.”
He added: “This investigation started on December 3. If the disorder finished today, the investigation goes on - that’s the way it works.”
Police have dealt with 1,100 incidents linked to the protests in the last seven weeks. Around 40% of those have been in south and east Belfast.
Mr Wright noted that around half of the arrests made so far have been of people aged under 21, and almost a third have been under 17.
Violence has only broken out at some of the loyalist protests that have been staged across Northern Ireland. But where it has flared, disorder has been intense, with police coming under sustained attack.
Much of the rioting has taken place in east Belfast close to a notorious flashpoint with the republican Short Strand area.
While the majority of pickets have not witnessed any trouble, many have involved road blocks, which themselves are illegal and have caused significant traffic disruption.
Mr Wright confirmed that the police were starting to take a “firmer” approach with those who were breaking the law.
As the protest movement has developed, a mass march to Belfast City Hall every Saturday has become a focal point.
But trouble has been associated with the event, with loyalists from east Belfast clashing with police and nationalist residents on their way back from the city centre on a number of occasions.
The organisers of politically motivated parades are required to apply to the Parades Commission for permission to hold the event.
Loyalists have not done so in regard to the Saturday marches in Belfast.
After discussions with the police, the Commission is now working to establish if it can treat the demonstration as a non-notified parade, and thus rule on its route.
A spokesman for the Commission said: “The Parades Commission and the PSNI have discussed the issues surrounding Union flag-related protests at Belfast City Hall.
“The Public Processions Act 1998 makes it clear that where people wish to process in a public place they are under a duty to notify the Commission. The Commission is currently clarifying the legal position in relation to the on-going events taking place in Belfast on Saturdays.”
Many of the protests have been co-ordinated by use of social media.
Mr Wright said specialist resources have been dedicated to closely monitoring and reviewing all such content, but he said no contributions had yet been found to be in breach of the law.
“To date we have referred over 40 cases to the PPS regarding comments made on Facebook and Twitter, however none to date have met the threshold for prosecution,” he said.
The detective also expressed concern at the number of young people involved in the trouble.
“Young people are limiting their life choices in terms of future employment and travel prospects,” he said.
“People with certain convictions may not be able to apply for Visas or travel to certain countries and we want young people to understand that the decisions they take now whether to become involved in this disorder or not may have a great impact on the choices they may wish to have later in life.
“Parents also need to take responsibility - know where their children are and what they are doing. It is also important for parents to discuss these issues with their children to ensure they fully appreciate the impact of such actions and the fact that such activity could constitute a crime for which they could be arrested and face charges.
“Over the coming weeks we will be releasing images of those involved in the violence and will be seeking assistance from members of the public in identifying these individuals and bringing them before the courts.”