Police chiefs have vowed to track down everyone involved in the violence that flared in Bradford on Saturday night.
120 police officers were injured as gangs of Asian and white youths fought running battles with police.
Officers were pelted with bricks, bottles, petrol bombs and fireworks and attacked with baseball bats and hammers. Two people were stabbed and cars set on fire.
The violence was sparked by an Anti Nazi League demonstration against the National Front. Assistant Chief Constable Greg Wilkinson West Yorkshire Policesaid that of the 36 people arrested - 13 white and 23 Asian - all but two were from the Bradford area.
Mr Wilkinson said calm had been restored in the area but stressed that police would be monitoring the situation for days to come.
He said it was "bizarre" to suggest that police had allowed the rioting to escalate.
But admitted there were times police were battling to stay in control as the sheer ferocity of the rioting had been "surprising".
He said: "All our efforts over those eight hours were to stop the rioting.
"It's bizarre to suggest we allowed it. When faced with rioting you can't just click your fingers and stop it.
"Our strategy was to stop crime, disorder and to disperse those involved but the strategy was not successful, but we did the best we could.
"We do have an excellent track record in follow up arrests and those people involved had better be looking behind them.
"We will be looking for people for quite a number of weeks to come."
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