Making Sense Of The #UKRiots

Posted by KATHY GILL, Technology Policy Analyst in International, Law, Society.
Aug 10th, 2011 | 16 responses

I was offline most of the weekend and Monday, so you can imagine my shock when I turned to Tweetdeck this morning and the first thing I saw was tweets about riots in the U.K. I found some articles to help bring me up to speed and provide some context. There were shocking bits:

One journalist wrote that he was surprised how many people in Tottenham knew of and were critical of the IPCC [Independent Police Complaints Commission], but there should be nothing surprising about this. When you look at the figures for deaths in police custody (at least 333 since 1998 and not a single conviction of any police officer for any of them), then the IPCC and the courts are seen by many, quite reasonably, to be protecting the police rather than the people.

Tottenham, the site of the initial riots, does not represent the UK in any shape, form or fashion. Nationally, the population is 92% white — English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish. Yet a quarter of the population of Tottenham is black, a large percentage is from Eastern Europe and a large percentage is Muslim. Almost half are foreign born; a quarter of the population is younger than 18 and half are under 40.

Deaths in police custody.

I discovered that hundreds marched in London back in April when a 48-year-old black musician died “in police custody” in south London:

According to the Guardian report four police officers arrived at Emmanuel’s home and an hour and a half later, just before 8.30 am he was dead when an air ambulance arrived at the scene. The police claim that Emmanuel went into his kitchen where he took a knife and stabbed himself, but his family and black community leaders believe that this explanation is contradictory.

Lee Jasper, chair of the London race and criminal justice consortium, said “Why, if Smiley was arrested, was he allowed to go near a kettle full of boiling water and drawers full of knives? It just doesn’t make sense.”

Pardon me, but … and hour-and-a-half later he’s dead at the scene? And he stabbed himself in the heart?

About those 333 deaths (December 2010 IPCC report, PDF, emphasis added):

The investigator found that police force policy and procedure on custody matters was breached in 91 cases (27%)….

Prosecutions were recommended against 13 police officers, who faced a total of 36 charges. None resulted in a guilty verdict (that we are aware of from the information available). Although making up 7% of all cases, the 22 cases involving Black detainees accounted for seven of the 13 recommendations for prosecution of police officers. …

The acquittal rate of police officers and staff members is therefore very high despite, in some cases, there appearing to be relatively strong evidence of misconduct or neglect….

Over one-third of cases in which a Black detainee died occurred in circumstances in which police actions may have been a factor (the proportion rises to almost one-half if the cases of accidental death where the police were present are added) [compares] with only 4% of cases where the detainee was White…

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA, 2002a) stated that “…a disproportionate number of people who die in custody or specifically following restraint are from minority ethnic groups, which inevitably leads to allegations of racism” (page 5).

I cannot find similar statistics in the U.S. I have found, however, taser death data attributed to Amnesty International. Between June 2001 and August 2008, AI attributed 351 deaths to the use of tasers. Given that the U.S. population is about five times that of the U.K…

Combine this analysis with the demographics of the location of the latest death and it’s possible to see the tinderbox waiting for a spark.

However, it was in a discussion with my in-laws over dinner that I started thinking about the unemployment rate among young men and the hopelessness that can result being part of that tinder.

Here are two sobering charts from The Poverty Site, which uses official Crown statistics:

Two-Thirds Of Those Unemployed Are Under Age 25

The Unemployment Rate Is Higher For Young Men Than Young Women

Think about this: one-in-five young men under age 25 in the United Kingdom is unemployed. These data do not include people who are full-time students, because they are not job-seekers.

That’s a general number, however, that lumps whites and minorities. There’s no reason to believe that the general statistics — unemployment higher in minority populations than in white ones — is reversed for the under 25s. That means the numbers for black youth are no doubt greater than these. How much greater? I couldn’t find the data for under 25s but I could for 25-and-older.

UK Unemployment By Ethnicity, 25 and Older

These data suggest that there is every reason to believe that the U.K. riots reflect frustration which may be well-placed (deaths in police custody) and reflect an economic situation that is untenable.

The parallels to the 1981 Brixton riots are compelling. However, how much of the current economic disruption (unemployment) reflects historical patterns, the rifts that occur as economies adjusted to new technologies? We have the Luddite attacks of the early 1800s, a response to industrialization. The 1830s in Britain saw “Swing Riots” as a response to economic pressure and a failure of non-agricultural jobs to provide relief for a “permanent surplus of agricultural labour.” Food price increases lead to political unrest (and riots) … and food prices in the U.K. have risen three times more than the G7.

What will the politicians — and the courts — do in response?

P.S. In writing this, I feel a little like Darcus Howe, a West Indian writer and broadcaster, might have felt when a BBC Anchor asked him if he wasn’t shocked by the riots, did that mean he condoned them. In other words, don’t take this as an endorsement of technique but an attempt to understand “why” this happened. I fiercely believe that we must understand the root cause if we want to prevent future riots.

The copyrighted cartoon by Petar Pismestrovic, Kleine Zeitung, Austria, is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

16 Responses to “Making Sense Of The #UKRiots”

1. Quelcrist Falconer says:

   August 10, 2011 at 8:16 am

   US African American unemployment is running at 16% despite have 11 million African Americans over the age of 16 not being in the labor force.

   Data Retrieval: Labor Force Statistics (CPS)

   States and Black Incarceration in America

   While California is enlightened, its prison growth rate places it 18 among the states in prison spending; most of those in prison are there for drug offenses—selling and using; California is rated number three among the states for incarcerating drug offenders and 45th among the states in spending on education. And among states that have a large racial disparity between those who are incarcerated and their numbers in society, California ranks 47th, so there are other states that are more vicious to their Black minority populations than California.

   Texas for instance, the state of President Bush (and thanks in part to Bush), ranks number three in spending on prisons, while it is ranked 20th on education spending, and ranks 15th in incarcerating drug offenders. It ranks number one in putting citizens to death. Texas has a Black population of 11% but a Black prison population of 44%.

   And in Florida, where the President’s brother is governor, even though the state ranks 49th in incarceration rates and 28th in prison spending, Florida has a Black population that equals 14%, yet a Black prison population that is 54%. Blacks in that state have a majority only in the prison population. Florida ranks 18th in spending on education.

   The states that have the largest Black prison populations are these:

   State…………………Black Population………….Black Prison Pop.

   Georgia 29% 64%

   Ohio 12% 52%

   Iowa 2% 24%

   Minnesota 3% 37%

   Wisconsin 6% 48%

   Illinois 15% 65%

   Missouri 11% 45%

   Arkansas 16% 52%

   Louisiana 33% 76%

   Mississippi 36% 75%

   Alabama 26% 65%

   Tennessee 16% 53%

   Kentucky 7% 36%

   Indiana 8% 42%

   Michigan 14% 55%

   South Carolina 30% 69%

   North Carolina 22% 64%

   Virginia 20% 68%

   Pennsylvania 10% 56%

   New York 15% 51%

   Delaware 19% 63%
   Maryland 28% 77%

   Connecticut 9% 47%

   New Jersey 13% 64%

   Rhode Island 4% 30%

   The states where Blacks are not being placed in prison as a matter of course are Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, and Idaho, even though their general populations are small.

   Most of the states with a majority of Black prisoners are found in the south. However, Maryland, which isn’t generally viewed as a southern state, has the largest percentage of Black prisoners—77%. But Wisconsin, with a tiny Black population of 6%, has a Black prison population of 48%. And Mississippi, with the largest Black population of 36%, has a Black prison population of 75%.

   Although Blacks are moving back to the south, the prison rates for Blacks in the south is generally higher than in the north and west. However, proportionally, that is not true.

   And while I don’t have any stats on the amount of deaths in police custody, there is no doubt in my mind that we make the Brits look like good Samaritans.

   It’s only a matter of time before the riots start here.
2. EEllis says:

   August 10, 2011 at 8:58 am

   AI attributed 351 deaths to the use of tasers

   Part of the problem is crap like this. Stats without context are worse than meaningless. Lets take just one year and look at police involved deaths then how many involve tasers. Due to increasing use of tasers one would assume an increase in taser involved deaths but it doesn’t automatically lead to any conclusion. A certain percentage of incidents lead to fatalities often connected to Excited delirium syndrome. Is there any evidence that tasers, used correctly, increase the possibility of a negative outcome in these encounters? Here’s the thing you can tell the author (of the referenced article) doesn’t care. It’s about headlines, getting people to read your crap, sensationalism, more than giving real info.
   Screw research and truth it’s about sound bites.
3. Are the Riots justifiable? « Boy Meets Wordpress says:

   August 10, 2011 at 9:03 am

   [...] Making Sense Of The #UKRiots (themoderatevoice.com) [...]
4. Quelcrist Falconer says:

   August 10, 2011 at 9:16 am

   Louisiana, US: Death of man tased nine times by police ruled homicide

   Dr. Randolph Williams, coroner for Winn Parish, has challenged the official story saying Pikes was already handcuffed when Nugent fired the first shot with his Taser. Additionally, Williams’s findings reveal that Pikes was struck with six 50,000-volt shocks at the arrest site within a period of three minutes. Following this rapid succession of electroshocks, Pikes was placed in a patrol car and driven to the police station. Once there, Pikes was tased again while seated in the back of the patrol car, taking the seventh shot directly to his chest.

   Dr. Williams told CNN in a recent interview that following the seventh shock, “[Pikes] was pulled out of the car onto the concrete. He was electroshocked two more times, which two officers noted that he had no neuromuscular response to those last two 50,000-volt electroshocks.” Williams says Pikes may already have been dead when the last two shots were fired. Police carried Pikes’ body into the station before calling an ambulance.

   God’s gift to cops, if used properly leaves no traces and is a lot easier than beating the perp with a rubber hose.

   And last but not least if caught on camera looks a lot better than beating the perp with a baton.
5. Allen says:

   August 10, 2011 at 10:43 am

   I think it was only a decade ago that they finally got rid of “Golly Wogs” on the side of jelly jars. The Al Jolson like caricature you clip from product labels with the words “Golly Wog” right on them. “Wog” being the British colloquialism equivalent to the American N-word. A stunning insult the first time I saw one. The British are racists and national bigots to boot in my opinion. Just ask the Irish.
6. JSpencer says:

   August 10, 2011 at 10:49 am

   “Excited delirium syndrome”

   I’ll be the taser manufacturers just love that phrase.

   Take large numbers of unemployed youth who are suffering an increasingly bleak outlook and who have essentially no representation for thier concerns. Add to this mix a police presence with seemingly no accountability. Why should anyone not expect a volatile result? Is it reasonable to expect these people to fade away, bear their despair quietly and behave themselves while their lives go down the drain? Let’s get real.
7. DLS says:

   August 10, 2011 at 2:20 pm

   Making sense of the riots? There is a British underclass. Done.

   (One could add the entitlement mentality that has been developed and perpetuated, which compounds underclass cultural pathology.)

   Here is the sense again, boys and girls:

   It’s not the economy, nor is it “the cuts” (in expenditures)…

   Not only is it completely non-sensical to blame the Tottenham riot on the cuts, it risks inflaming an already volatile situation by letting lawbreakers off the hook. Last night, copy cat riots broke out in Enfield and Brixton and there were pockets of lawlessness across London, including Shepherd’s Bush, less than a mile from my house. Opportunistic young criminals are more likely to exploit the tense atmosphere in the capital if they hear Left-wing politicians on the television and radio making excuses for the lawbreakers in Tottenham. As they smash shop windows and start helping themselves to designer clothing and electrical goods, they can tell themselves they’re victims of this heartless “Tory Government” rather than common-or-garden thieves.

   http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100099866/blaming-these-riots-on-the-cuts-risks-inflaming-an-already-volatile-situation/

   [W]hile many of those involved in the weekend’s unrest were not even been born when the previous riots took place, many of the social problems remain unchanged.

   The north London community forms the core of the London Borough of Haringey, one of the most deprived areas in Britain, blighted by gang culture, drugs and gun crime.

   Police have for decades fought in vain to counter the area’s numerous postcode gangs – most notably Tottenham Mandem – whose feuding and drugs wars have resulted in scores of deaths.
   In the past year alone, the Metropolitan Police has had to tackle 88 gun crime offences in the area – down from 141 the year before – and dealt with eight murders. The borough sees around 5,000 violent offences committed annually. [...]

   Underpinning Tottenham’s crime statistics is a host of social and economic problems, despite millions of pounds being poured into tackling them.

   Teenage pregnancy rates in the borough are among the highest in Britain, with around 53 girls aged 15 to 17 in every 1,000 becoming pregnant annually.

   The local authority’s social services department has come under the spotlight in recent years, most notably over its handling of Baby P, who was tortured to death at the hands of his mother Tracey Connelly, Steven Barker and Jason Owen at his home in Tottenham.

   Tottenham is also facing an unemployment crisis with more than 10,500 out of work and claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance.

   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8687487/Tottenham-riot-a-community-blighted-by-drugs-and-gun-crime.html

   (and lessons for some here [USA] may be needed, too)

   Between 1965 and 1992, the American public (black and white) lost its sympathy for rioters. For many liberal historians, that’s always been a subject of pain and anger. They presume that the American middle class was turned against Bobby Kennedy’s brand of compassion by unscrupulous race baiters and venal anti-tax campaigners. In fact, there’s only so much self-destructive violence that the silent majority will suffer before it will use the ballot box to elect a government prepared to put the country in order. The sense of liberal ambition that permeated the country in the 1960s was discredited by soaring inflation and unemployment in the 1970s, in spite of the dramatic expansion of the federal government post-Watts. During the Ronald Reagan revolution in the 1980s, conservative economics and Old Time Religion caught on. They’ve never lost their grip.

   http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100099840/tottenham-riots-the-history-lesson-from-los-angeles-is-that-the-modern-middle-class-wont-tolerate-mob-rule/
8. JSpencer says:

   August 10, 2011 at 5:23 pm

   So DLS, how about taking a few lines to tell us what you would do to address the rioting problem??
9. Quelcrist Falconer says:

   August 10, 2011 at 9:31 pm

   So DLS, how about taking a few lines to tell us what you would do to address the rioting problem??

   Step 1) Set up M60s around the parameters of the rioting zone.
   Step 2) Launch a bunch of gas grenades into the center of the crowd.
   Step 3) Open Fire when the crowd surges out of the rioting area.
   Step 4) Let God sort them out.

   Just my WAG…
10. EEllis says:

    August 11, 2011 at 12:24 am

    Part of the problem may be an institutionalized underclass that while has enough to get by, has been trained to believe they are static and unable to change their situation. It’s kind of the fishes thing with Jesus. When they hand out fish instead of fishing poles you can create a problem.
11. EEllis says:

    August 11, 2011 at 12:51 am

    I’ll be the taser manufacturers just love that phrase.

    Well it came about before tasers. It is a bit strange in that it’s diagnosis is based on what they don’t find rather than some positive indicator but whatever you call it the numbers are pretty convincing. By the way it almost always involves drugs or alcohol or mental illness and the only studies I’ve seen have it occurring slightly less with Tasers than when police go “hands on”. There are also cases that don’t involve the police at all. They have reported cases in hospitals also. Funny thing is that people scoffing and denying the existence of this syndrome have actually slowed down the medical communities response to the problem. New EMS guidelines that allow them to use drugs like midazolam and ketamine to counteract the effects of Excited delirium are hoped to have positive effects along with the use of cold IV to those that have been tased, been in long struggles, or have elevated skin temp. Those who pretend it’s all about the cops slow down the implementation of the protocol because they are afraid it’s being used as an excuse.
    http://journals.lww.com/em-news/Fulltext/2010/10000/ExDS_Protocol_Puts_Clout_in_EMS_Hands.1.aspx

    My point being that poor and sensationalized reporting can exacerbate problems and create, at least for a while, their own reality.

    None of this of course should be taken as condoning the miss use of tasers or any police authority. Maybe tasers are an issue in that they are easier to use at less risk to the officer than going hands on. That however is different than the false arguments used most often by those who condemn taser use by the police.
12. Quelcrist Falconer says:

    August 11, 2011 at 7:31 am

    It’s kind of the fishes thing with Jesus. When they hand out fish instead of fishing poles you can create a problem.

    Fishing poles are great, assuming that you are within reasonable proximity to a body of water, that there are fishes left in that body of water, and that the fishes in it are not full of mercury, pcbs and other such fine chemical products.

    The reason an underclass exist in almost all industrialized countries is that there are no low skill jobs that pay a living wage that need doing that cannot be outsourced to some third world hell-hole, or automated away. Combine that with the inability of people to unionize and self-organize and you end up with an economy where the people working are working hour work weeks, while you have as much as 20% of the working population unemployed or under-employed.
13. EEllis says:

    August 11, 2011 at 8:04 am

    Combine that with the inability of people to unionize and self-organize and you end up with an economy where the people working are working hour work weeks, while you have as much as 20% of the working population unemployed or under-employed.

    You do realize that we are speaking of the UK right? There is no bar to for orginazation there. Heck it’s much more labor friendly than the US but they have a worse “underclass” issue than the US. Your talking points make no sense.
14. Quelcrist Falconer says:

    August 11, 2011 at 1:29 pm

    You do realize that we are speaking of the UK right? There is no bar to for orginazation there. Heck it’s much more labor friendly than the US but they have a worse “underclass” issue than the US. Your talking points make no sense.

    Being more Labor Friendly than the US is not exactly a challenge and being more Labor Friendly than the US does not mean that a country is all that labor friendly. Unionization rate in the UK have been dropping since the late 70′s and were under 30% in 2000, I seriously doubt that they have gone up since.

    As far as “underclass” goes, the US has at least 1% of it’s population in prison and just as many on probation or out under parole, that’s 3 million individuals in jail and just as many under tight legal supervision. Some studies have found that 47% of the population of Detroit is functionally illiterate and 50% of the population of East Texas is also functionally illiterate.

    I think that you seriously underestimate the size of the American “underclass”.
15. EEllis says:

    August 11, 2011 at 2:04 pm

    I think that you seriously underestimate the size of the American “underclass”.

    Again that has nothing to due with your original point. What is it, throw enough crap and people wont notice its crap? Guess what it’s still crap. You don’t make any logical points or arguments just jumble different “facts” (and I’m being kind there) togeather without any direction. And 58% of people who bother to read your posts to the end………
16. KATHY GILL, Technology Policy Analyst says:

    August 12, 2011 at 2:23 am

    (1) I used the data on taser deaths because I could not find any US data comparable to the UK statistics. Fascinating that so many of you chose to rant about this.

    (2) I find it fascinating that readers so often conflate “rioters” and “looters” — the words are not synonyms.

    A looter is someone who “takes spoils or plunder“

    A rioter is someone who “participates in a violent disturbance of the peace” or who “rises up against the constituted authority”

    (3) RE “underclass” claims – please look again at the demographic data. The neighborhood at the center of this conflict is an ethnic minority. They might or might not be “underclass” but I the “underclass” (ie, the lower quintile – EVERY society has one, the degree of “under-ness” is directly related to income inequality — UK is not as unequal as the US) will have to be composed of Brit/Irish/Scot/Welsh caucasians.