Vancouver police riot website gets lots of hits

Vancouver police saya new website set up tohelp identify those who participated in the Stanley Cup riot in June is getting an extraordinary number of visitors since its launch early Tuesday.

The website, "has been receiving nearly 2,200 hits per hour since the launch," Const. Jana McGuinness said in a release.

More than 50 new tips have been generated by the siteand have been forwarded to investigators for followup.

The website was unveiled at a news conference at Vancouver police headquarters.

"This was an extraordinary event in the history of our city, and it calls for extraordinary measures," Insp. Les Yeo said during a media briefing Tuesday morning.

"We have pictures of 40 suspects on the site. We'll be adding more than 100 photos over the next month or two."

Members of the public are encouraged to look at the pictures and submit any information that might help identify the suspects.

"We're hoping with this interactive web page, that many more people will ... help us catch these suspects," said Vancouver Police Chief Const. Jim Chu.

"We want these people charged with participating in a riot and sentenced for their full involvement the night of the riot. If you want the same, I'm asking for your help."

Members of the publicare also asked to submit any additional photos or videos related to the riot.

Slow pace of investigationcriticized

After the Vancouver Canucks' Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup final, rioters spent hours torching cars, smashing windows and looting stores in the city's downtown core, causing millions of dollars in damage.

The riot cast a cloud over a city that had basked in the international spotlight a year earlier when it hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, and few levels of government have escaped criticism.

In particular, the police have been forced to repeatedly explain why no rioters have yet been charged although 42 people have turned themselves in and police have gathered 1,100 names.

Thathas been contrasted with the speedy convictions that followed riots earlier this month in London.

Chu defended the force's lack of convictions during Tuesday's briefing, saying it's important to hold the rioters responsible for all charges.

He said rioters could turn themselves in, plead guilty to lesser charges andask forleniency in court. That would prevent police from laying more serious charges laterif new evidence comes to light.

"We may find out months from now that [someone] has committed more acts of violence and carnage that night. But since the court already dealt with the people ...we can't lay the charge of rioting again because of the legal precedent called double jeopardy," Chu said.

"In essence, someone who committed a multitude of rioting related acts could use the rush to justice to evade being held accountable and punished for these other serious acts. Rushing the case to court means the judge has no way of knowing if this is an isolated act or a pattern of serious rioting."

Chu said police plan to conduct a full and thorough investigation before bringing a suspect to court, and ensure all the relevant evidence is placed before the courts.

He said police plan to charge suspects with participating in a riot, the most serious offence they can lay, instead of the lesser charges of mischief or looting.

Details of an independent review ordered into the riots are expected to be released on Thursday.