Violence and Social Disadvantage - The British Experience, Brixton 1981

• NCJ Number: 83373
• Journal: Law and Order Volume: 30 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1982) Pages: 27-32
• Author(s): J Reed
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The conditions and events leading up to the riots in the West Indian community located in the Brixton section of London, England, are described, along with an examination of the lessons learned for urban policing.

Abstract

Although the Brixton riots occurred on a much smaller scale than those in Dade County, Fla., 11 months earlier, the damage was extensive by British standards. Twenty-eight buildings were burned, and 45 citizens and 279 police officers were injured. The West Indian community, which constituted 12.4 percent of the Brixton population, had gravitated to the area over a 20-year period in response to a call for unskilled labor during the late 1950's. The West Indians gradually became concentrated in an area characterized by social disintegration, educational underachievement, unemployment, drug abuse, and a high crime rate. The Brixton problem was compounded by deteriorating relations between the police and the community. Problems included allegations that police had indiscriminately stopped and searched citizens and that a special patrol group had been used without prior consultation with community liaison committees. In April 1981, the local police commander initiated a 7-day operation which entailed the saturation of the area with police to control burglary and street crime. Violence erupted on the fifth day of the operation following a misunderstanding of an investigation of a stabbing incident. Rioting began again the following day as a result of rumors about another incident. The government inquiry into the riots revealed that the police need training in the prevention and containment of public disorder, ongoing training in community relations, stricter controls to eliminate conduct which is racially prejudiced, and new systems for formal consultation between the police and the community. Emphasis is now being placed on developing new techniques for policing the inner cities.