Public Enquiry needed into Riots in England

Wednesday, 17th August 2011

The riots in England appeared to have erupted spontaneously with the assistance of social media to co-ordinate attacks on property and people.The wide scale of the riots and the level of damage caused has shocked the political establishment to the core. Damage to tens of millions of Euro has been caused and many people have lost their livelihood. The recall of Parliament from its annual holidays was indicative of the seriousness which the riots were viewed. David Cameron, Prime Minister broke off from his annual holidays to issue a stern warning that those responsible for the rioting were simply criminals.

The police response to the rioting initially appeared too timid but now that they have been given the political backing of the establishment, the gloves are off in the tracking down of those responsible for the damage and looting. In the metropolitan area alone over 600 people have been sentenced with courts sitting throughout the night to hand down penalties to those convicted. The voices of those who try to portray the rioters as simply disenfranchised misguided youths trapped in poverty and unemployment are given very short shrift. One lady on radio described them as "feral rats" an opinion which sounds harsh but appeared to sum up the vast majority of opinion. It was interesting to note that those living within the communities which were badly affected were amongst the first to condemn the looting and damage caused to family homes and businesses. One man who lost his son to a hit and run vehicle called for those involved in the looting to cease their actions, a call which resonated powerfully with those who heard his plea.

No doubt the politicians will institute a public enquiry into the causes of the rioting and rightly so. The age profile of those involved range from early teens to well past middle age, but in the main it appears that the vast majority were in their late teens and early twenties. There are large swathes of London and other large cities ravaged by depradation and poverty and caught up in an endless cycle of unemployment. This in turn perpetuates resentment and dislike and distrust of authority, and it takes very little to spark this off into civic disobedience. However, it is noticeable the main victims of their thuggery are their fellow neighbours within their own communities. It appears things are quietening down but the causes and remedies will take much longer to figure out.