Some 16,000 police officers are policing London's streets in a bid to prevent a fourth night of rioting.
The Met Police has cancelled overtime and drafted in support from 30 forces.Shops and businesses in some areas are closing early in a bid to avoid the kind of violence and looting that spread through London on Monday.
PM David Cameron has pledged to restore order, recalling Parliament on Thursday in response to the "sickening scenes", which prompted unrest in other cities.
The Metropolitan force has released what it says will be the "first of many" CCTV images of rioting suspects, while 32 people who were among the first to be charged in connection to the violence have appeared in court.
Eighteen were remanded in custody. So far 525 people have been arrested and more than 100 people being charged in connection with violence in the capital.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said the use of plastic bullets - never before fired to deal with riots in England - would be "considered carefully" in the event of further disorder.
But he added: "That does not mean we are scared of using any tactic."
Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin had earlier ruled out calling in the Army.
However, the force has called in Special constables and community support officers to ensure five times the usual number of officers for a Tuesday will be on duty. Similar staffing levels will be maintained over three days.
Shot in car Meanwhile, Scotland Yard said a 26-year-old man found shot in a car in Croydon, amid rioting in the south London town, had died in hospital.
Mr Cameron met officers in the Met Police's Gold command in Lambeth on Tuesday afternoon, before speaking to emergency service personnel in Croydon.
He condemned the "sickening scenes of people looting, vandalising, thieving, robbing".
He told rioters: "You will feel the full force of the law. And if you are old enough to commit these crimes, you are old enough to face the punishment."
The recall of Parliament will allow MPs to "stand together in condemnation of these crimes and to stand together in determination to rebuild these communities", he said.
The prime minister returned early from his holiday in Tuscany to discuss the unrest, which first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of a man by police.
London has seen a wave of "copycat criminal activity" over the past three days, the Met Police said.
London has seen a wave of "copycat criminal activity" over the past three days, the Met Police said.
Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol are among the other cities where violence broke out.
In other developments:
- Three people are being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder after a police officer was injured by a car in Wembley, north-west London, while trying to stop suspected looters
- Part of London's Tramlink between has been suspended as a result of a fire
- Elsewhere, 138 people have been arrested in Birmingham after scores of youths smashed windows and looted shops in the shopping area
- West Midlands Police said a police station in Holyhead Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, was set alight
- Up to 200 youths with masks roamed through Toxteth in Liverpool, while Bristol police said they dealt with outbreaks of disorder involving about 150 people
- A Nottinghamshire police station was attacked in the St Ann's area and 200 tyres were set alight in the street
- Police dealt with "small pockets of disorder" in the Chapeltown area of Leeds
Groups of people began attacking officers, wrecking cars with wooden poles and metal bars, and looting shops. Violence then flared separately in other parts of the capital.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who also cut short a holiday to return, was heckled by the members of the public while viewing damage in Clapham Junction on Tuesday.
Some people have complained there have been too few police to deal with the violence.
Mr Johnson told those gathered that those responsible for the violence "face punishment they will bitterly, bitterly regret".
However, when challenged to do more for communities, Mr Johnson rejected "economic or social justifications" for the violence.