According to the Guardian Online Newspaper
it states that some community leaders say a tinderbox of economic and social
tensions made the riots of summer 2011 almost inevitable.
When Boris Johnson stood in the midst of an angry crowd in
Clapham the day after the summer riots, he complained that he had
heard "too much sociological explanation and not enough
condemnation".
Yet much of the rhetoric that filled
the airwaves and news pages in the aftermath of the riots was all about blame,
along with the need for tough measures, zero tolerance and swift action. There
was little rational argument about the underlying causes, except for a
series of SocietyGuardian.co.uk articles,
written by sociologists, in response to Cameron's request
for a thorough analysis "when the dust settles".
Well the dust has now settled. So a conference organised by the Campaign for
Social Science on Thursday provides a timely opportunity to reflect
on the events of this summer and draw on expert opinions, from criminologists
and psychologists to sociologists and epidemiologists.
The conference will present
different perspectives and offer ways forward. Contributions range from
"big picture" perspectives, focusing on the relationship between
inequalities and societal dysfunction, to crowd behavior and the psychological
profiling of rioters.
According ro John Solomos, professor of sociology
at City University. “Much of the official response to the riots,
triggered by the death of Mark Duggan in Tottenham, London, has been to
view them as merely acts of looting and criminality, the actions of feral
children, or the work of criminal gangs within the urban underclass “But it
would be false to assume that the riots were an organized protest, masterminded
by criminal gangs (they only accounted for a minority of arrests), or that they
were overwhelmingly linked to issues about race and policing. This year's riots
were more about looting, with a surprising number of women among the looters.
Nor can the rapid spread of unrest
be explained away by social media. The idea that a person can whip up a riot
over Face book is very misleading and gives the person more apparent status
than he warrants, says criminologist David Canter.
Others take a broad perspective,
making links between the current economic situation and malaise within certain
groups. Some academics and community leaders are saying that causal
factors are complex, representing a tinderbox of economic and social tensions
whose explosion was almost inevitable.
There is much talk of the breakdown
in family life, poor parenting, widespread moral collapse and "broken
Britain". Many of the rioters have expressed anger that society has let
them down.
But if there is any common factor it
is that the rioters were mostly from low-income backgrounds, suggesting that
the long-term impact of the global economic downturn has helped to fan the
flames, says Dr Paul Bagguley, a sociologist from the University of Leeds.
Richard Wilkinson, author of The Spirit Level: why more equal societies almost always do better,
claims that inequalities in society are a major factor. Drawing on empirical
evidence from around 200 international studies, he shows that it is relative Poverty
that causes social unrest, rather than poverty per se.
Deprivation and inequality were also
cited as factors by the sociologists writing for Society Guardian.co.uk, along
with rising youth unemployment and the scrapping
of some of the support programmers for the jobless.
Many lessons will be learned from
the riots – and these will be explored at the conference. There has been no
shortage of opinions expressed by politicians and media personalities.
In the absence of sound research,
which inevitably takes time to undertake, these views were mostly personal
and off the cuff. There is a need for proper research to establish the
particular conditions that triggered this summer's riots before any solutions
can be offered.
It is too soon for solid solutions,
but the aim of the conference is to seek a way forward, rather than simply
offer explanations in retrospect. But the overriding message is that any
changes in policy or practice must be based on firm evidence. The social
sciences can provide that evidence.
• Cary Cooper is chair of the Campaign
for Social Science; Anne Nicholls is the campaign's press
Reference .
officer.http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/london-riots
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