Rioting: so why here and why now? asks Jim Gannon.
We witnessed unprecedented criminality on the streets of our cities as mob rule took over; destroying homes, businesses and livelihoods in a wanton spree of mindless violence and crime last month, writes Jim Gannon.
We watched events develop as terrifying individuals masked and hooded up burned, looted and rampaged with a ferocity not seen on our streets before, in so many locations. As one paused in utter disbelief the reality struck home that this was not some scene from a movie but glorious England, where things like this just do not happen. How wrong we were. What has happened to Britain in the last decade to bring us into this alien society, what forces have created such a massive gulf between the so calledโ usโ and โthemโ? Initially, as we viewed the events unfurl in Tottenham on the weekend of August 6 and 7 following the shooting of Mark Duggan by the Met Police, it seemed like mobs of gangland thugs roaming the high streets doing just what they liked, more or less unchallenged. However as copycat instances occurred on the streets of other London suburbs, as well as Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham Nottingham and Leicester, did this simply reflect societyโs anger with the way things are today in Britain. As more people were arrested it soon became apparent that not all these offenders came from deprived backgrounds or were jobless , or in fact were able to drag up hard luck stories as justification for their mindless participation in such unlawfulness on our streets. Something has gone very wrong in our society when we see such a large percentage of young people involved in this carnage in our towns and cities . To blame the current government cuts as some have done is not acceptable, and to put it pure and simple its plain unadulterated criminality which has to be dealt with in a strong and positive way.
Too little, too late
As ministers debate the actions of the police during the early eruption of violence and looting in Tottenham , it appears easy to criticise the police stand-off tactics, as the Duggan demonstration quickly turned into anarchy on the streets of London. I am sure our TV screens and media will be full of debate over the coming weeks culminating in a โlessons learnedโ document and never to be repeated conclusion. The fact is however the victims will never quite see it the same way and many of the culprits will never get the message. The judicial system finds itself under increasing pressure as concerns are being expressed by human rights supporters that rough justice will get meted out amidst public and political desire for retribution and heavy punishment. As magistrates dealt with cases before them in overnight courts in places like London, Manchester and the West Midlands, many of the offenders were remanded in custody to crown courts as magistrates felt their limited power of punishment was insufficient to fit the crime. (Magistrates are confined to six months imprisonment, and fines up to £5000). Swift and visible justice may not hold all the answers, although David Cameron made it clear in the Commons on August 11 that he expected courts to be tough on offenders, especially those convicted of violent disorder and the most serious offences of crime . Motivation for some of the offences committed appear complex if early signs are any indication. Sheer wilful vandalism, greed, opportunism and dislike of law and order are but a few. While prison sentences will form the basis of the punishment for the really serious offences, the restorative justice process, where offenders have to work to make amends to those they have wronged, will no doubt prove to be a better solution for lesser offenders. Rough justice wonโt help the long term solution to the problems. There appears little to really preventing it from happening again in any UK town or city, except perhaps the presence of large numbers of uniformed police on the streets and of course community pressure and support in the areas where itโs likely to occur again.
Zero tolerance
The Prime Minister David Cameron gave his backing this weekend to Ian Duncan-Smithโs new plan for a full scale assault on Britainโs gangs. Calling for a โzero toleranceโ policing the form of law enforcement pioneered in the USA where even minor crime is pursued to make it clear all crime is unacceptable. Quite how this will be managed at the same time as police forces are being asked to make 20 per cent savings on their budgets is beyond me in the current financial environment but IDS has until October to come up with a magic plan. Letโs hope his wand can create the finance ….. As we learn that David Cameron has drafted in the former LA chief of Police Bill Bratton who was responsible for a successful โZero Toleranceโ policy to give advice, let us not forget that the LA authorities also gave him an increase of 5000 police officers to implement his robust policy.
Effects on high street
As the effects of the rioting and looting on businesses in the high street took its toll, many of those engaged in the security industry are reeling from the carnage and loss which has occurred. Some will feel angered and frustrated by the actions of those responsible and knowing that things will never quite be the same, as the thought of how vulnerable security really is when social network media can summon up flash mobs in a matter of minutes potentially causing havoc anywhere, anytime. This in itself exposes security protection to another type of risk which maybe until now had never been quite the reality it is today.
Jim adds: Given the arrest figures over the weekend of August 13 and 14, and the numbers charged with offences to date, I do not honestly believe that the police are going to ‘arrest’ themselves out of criticism from some areas of society particularly those who were victims during the early part of the initial riots taking place. Acknowledging that the police were in a very difficult operational position during those early hours, the pictures being streamed across the media outlets only tended to show the police standing by as onlookers which probably did not represent an accurate total picture of the events taking place.
