Societal Security and Crisis Management by Per Lægreid & Lise H. Rykkja

Author:Per Lægreid & Lise H. Rykkja
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783319923031
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

The 2011 London Riots

Overview

As noted, this chapter is interested in the societal security responses in the context of the rioting that occurred in August 2011 in London and elsewhere in England. Over the past four decades, there had been previous incidents of rioting that had resulted in considerable public attention. Most prominently, the Brixton Riots of April 1981 illustrated the considerable social unrest during the early years of the Thatcher administration (during a period of economic recession). The tension related in particular to relations between the police and local inhabitants. In response to the Brixton riots, the so-called Scarman Report highlighted the widespread evidence of disproportionate use of ‘stop and search’ powers by the police on black youth. This led to the creation of the ‘Police Complaints Authority’, but recommendations to address social and ethnic tensions were not implemented. Criticism about the overall orientation of policing remained. For example, the inquiry (‘Macpherson report’) into the death of the teenager Stephen Lawrence noted, in 1999, that the police was ‘institutionally racist’ (Guardian 2014a).

Rioting also occurred in the early 2000s in the North East of England, involving ethnic tensions in deprived areas. While this led to some initiatives, the overall direction of societal security policy regarding public order was overshadowed by the aftermath of 9/11 and the London bombings of 7 July 2005.

The fatal shooting of Mark Duggan on 4 August in north London (Tottenham) triggered the 2011 London riots. Rioting spread to various parts of London and to other English cities, such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham. Four days of rioting led to over 3000 arrests; the damage was estimated to have gone into the hundreds of millions of pounds. In London, it led to 2194 prosecutions (BBC 2012). 2 They are particularly noteworthy given the speed and extent to which unrest spread across different parts of England. This diffusion was blamed, by some, on social media. More generally, it highlighted the widespread perception that the police had ‘lost control’.

Before continuing, it should be noted that this chapter uses the words ‘riot’ and ‘disorder’ interchangeably. Choosing the word ‘riot’ in political discourse highlights not just that the actions were directed at a specific cause, but also implies a call for stricter sanctioning in contrast to the word ‘disorder’ which could suggest a more diffuse set of disaffection.

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