British police say they thwarted attacks on 2012 Olympic sites by rioters after intercepting intelligence from social networks.
Assistant Commissioner Lynne Owens of London's Metropolitan Police told lawmakers Tuesday that the force sent extra officers to London's Oxford Circus, two malls and the Olympic Park on Aug. 8 in preparation for rioting.
She said police saw messages on Twitter and the BlackBerry smartphones of people who had been arrested for rioting, suggesting attacks were planned at the sites.
"We were able to secure all those places and indeed there was no damage at any of them," she told the home affairs select committee Tuesday.
RIM, the Canadian BlackBerry maker, had said earlier it would work with authorities after police said rioters were organizing using the company's BlackBerry Messenger service. The service is extremely popular among London's urban youth.
The government has said it will debate whether cellphone services could be disrupted or blackouts imposed on social networks during riots.
Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin of the London Metropolitan Police had said he considered asking authorities to switch off social networking completely.
He said police were receiving new intelligence every second, but said much of the information coming from social networking was "wrong and rather silly."
However, Godwin said the legality of shutting down social networking services would be "very questionable."
Home Secretary Theresa May said that police would get better training and stronger powers, including the power to impose blanket curfews in troubled areas.
"We will make sure police have the powers they need," she said.
Police have arrested more than 3,000 people, mostly young men, since the riots erupted Aug. 6 in London.
About 1,400 people have been charged with riot-related offences and more than 1,200 people have appeared in court.
One retired man was murdered during the London riots and there has been an estimated $325 million in damage and stolen goods.
