NCJ Number
139665
Journal
Indian Journal of Criminology Volume: 20 Issue: 2 Dated: (July 1992) Pages: 115-125
Date Published
1992
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article discusses problems in riot research, riot patterns, typologies and causes of riots, riots and the mass media, riot prevention, and riot control.
Abstract
The discussion of riot research problems notes that the arhythmic appearance and disappearance of riots impedes the systematic empirical research of riots. Reliable data sources are also difficult to identify and access since so many individuals with diverse motives and perceptions are involved. In the section on riot patterns, the author advises that although riots have a variety of manifestations, most occur in the context of mass demonstrations that escalate into violence. The complexity of riot causes is noted in descriptions of three recent, riot-causation theories: the criminal-biological regression theory (riots are a regression to primitive behavior); the psychoanalytic social contagion theory (rioters are dominated by their subconscious feelings, affects, or instincts); and the psychopathological convergence theory (individuals with similar predispositions, attitudes, and personality traits fuel one another's riot behaviors). The discussion of the media and riots concludes that the media typically fail to fulfill their educative function by examining potential and actual riot causes and dynamics, as they focus on the dramatic events of the riots. An outline of ways to prevent riots features cultural conditioning for nonviolent resolution of conflicts, governmental and societal attention to the socioeconomic deficits of various groups, and the structuring of channels for hearing and responding to grievances. Suggestions for riot control focus on measured police responses based on thorough riot training and the targeting of only those who are engaged in destructive violence. 48 references