Police and Thieves on the Street.

 

The riots across London and other parts of England came as a real shock to many. Places like Ealing, Enfield, Clapham and Croydon don’t do riots, and so to see them burning, shops being ransacked and violent gangs running unopposed through terrified communities was a shock to the system.

In 1976 the Jamaican singer Junior Murvin wrote ‘Police and Thieves’ about how armed and violent gangs were terrorizing his neighbourhood and his country and how the police, despite their own use of guns and brutality, could do little to stop them. Thirty-five years later we still see ‘The crowds coming in day by day, with no-one to stop them in any way. All the peacemakers turned to war-officers.’ It seems the last three days we have had crowds coming into London communities, and no-one being able to stop them doing whatever they want. We now have calls for the army to be deployed on the streets, for the police to be allowed to use rubber bullets and water cannon and for the rule of law regarding arrests to be suspended in order to allow for a faster arrest process. Hopefully the peacemakers will not be turned into war officers.

Some people have tried to argue that the ‘riots’ are a reaction to social and political issues, to the failure of the police to ‘respect’ young people. But we did not see political protest on the streets of London, we did not see disaffected youth finding their voice and standing up for themselves, we did not even see ‘riots’ in which the authorities in the form of the police are being attacked. What we saw were thieves, arsonists and vandals, people who revel in destruction and others who enjoy watching and running alongside mayhem being given the opportunity to do exactly what they wanted. They drew in other, mostly young, people from their communities, who would normally be law-abiding. These innocents became accomplices to the actions of a very small criminal minority, providing a mob that would give a degree of anonymity to those wishing to steal and destroy. We can only hope that the guilt they feel the morning after is something that will make them stronger and more determined to be a force for good and for construction and cooperation, rather than for evil and destruction and selfishness. The rioters copied what had happened in Tottenham over the weekend, taking part in looting, vandalism and rioting for their own profit and pleasure, believing that 'if they can get away with it in Tottenham, then we can get away with it here'. The disregard they showed for the safety of others, their homes and livelihoods, their local neighbourhoods and communities was heartless and cold.

            Unsurprisingly many people are very, very angry with the rioters, in part because we know that the criminals have got away with it, they have had their fun, they have stolen what they wanted and their will be no justice for the innocent people who have lost the homes they live in and the cars they rely on; for businesses that provided jobs, and services, paid tax and business rates and those who have been terrorized by the wanton destruction of their communities. Others are also angry with the police who appeared to leave the hearts of their communities unprotected, giving the mob a free hand to steal, destroy and terrify. Tonight (Tuesday) there will apparently be 16,000 police officers on the streets of London, ready to respond to rioting. I doubt very much whether there will be any rioting tonight, they have had their fun, got a new pair of trainers, settled some old scores with people they don’t like, and made the police look ham-fisted.

Anyone out on the street tonight intending to try and do the same thing would have to be seriously stupid, risking the no doubt very strong response of the police. But then again these people smashed up the shops, and burned down the businesses that provide services, jobs and much of the prosperity in their community and they presented a face of their community to the world that may now look elsewhere for a place to site their factory or open their business. The talent, verve and style that made these places great to live in, may in fact desert them and they will be left to live in dull, lifeless and drab communities with nothing going for them. They were too stupid to realise the consequences of their actions, maybe they will be too stupid to realise that the police will be ready for them this afternoon. The response to a personal attack usually is a desire for vengeance against the perpetrator, a desire to punish the person who inflicted the attack; tonight many millions of people in Britain will be watching their televisions hoping to see retribution being meted out by the police in London.

                It is not a very uplifting thought but the sight of rubber bullets and truncheons being used on men in hoods would be very gratifying at this time. But will truncheon blows lead to more rioters on the streets,  will the use of rubber bullets by the police lead to the use of lead bullets by armed gangs? Will the death of a rioter lead to the death of a policeman? The desire for revenge and gratifying punishment must always be balanced against the impact and the outcome of those actions. The police in London and other parts of the country clearly have some very difficult decisions to make, and sometimes very little time to weigh up the effect and the consequences of those decisions. I hope they make the right decisions most of the time and I trust they make those decisions for the right reasons all the time; in the service and for the protection of the communities in which they work.