Looting on 17 October: investigators in Brest and Rennes hunt rioters image by image
Following violence on 17 October in Brest and Rennes, police are identifying suspects via CCTV and social media, without a dedicated task force.
Brest and Rennes: investigators on the trail of rioters from 17 October
According to letelegramme.fr, the search for looters and rioters who struck on Saturday 17 October in Brest and Rennes is continuing, but with far fewer resources than those deployed in Paris.
Unlike the Paris police prefect, neither Brest nor Rennes has a dedicated "task force", video analysis specialists, or what investigators call "digital surveillance" — a method involving tracking a suspect via a network of CCTV cameras to their home. "In Brest, the network of cameras is so sparse that it is in any case not feasible," a police source confides.
A pool of investigators mobilised, but overwhelmed
In Rennes, a pool of investigators is activated at each demonstration in order to maintain a reactive system. On 17 October, however, the number of rioters present made any real-time arrest virtually impossible: shortage of holding cells, vehicles, judicial police officers (OPJ) and magistrates available to process custody hearings. A Rennes source nonetheless assures that the system will be "XXL" for the next demonstration scheduled for the following Saturday.
Post-event identification, central technique
Lacking arrests at the time, investigators are relying on delayed identification. Several of them describe their method: exploitation of street CCTV footage, shop cameras and social media posts. "If we do not identify someone visually, the images can, on the other hand, allow us to materialise contact zones, where we will be able to collect fingerprints and/or genetic material," they explain. Analysis of phone records and witness interviews complete this standard approach.
In Brest, the six investigators mobilised are said to have already succeeded in identifying initial perpetrators of damage to property using these techniques. Conversely, the identification of assailants — those who targeted individuals — is reported not yet to have resulted at this stage.
Disparities in resources between major and smaller cities
The contrast between Paris and the two Breton cities illustrates a structural reality: the human and technological resources available for this type of investigation vary considerably depending on city size. In Paris, teams specialising in video analysis and digital data exploitation can be deployed rapidly. In Brest and Rennes, investigators rely on standard legal tools, without external reinforcement reported at this stage.
Source: Google News LU FR