Policing Large Scale Disorder: Lessons from the disturbances of ...

The “Community Conversations” in Southwark
Home Affairs Committee: Evidence Ev w51
10. In the days following the disturbances the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Members and senior officers
met with community representatives and members of the public to listen, learn and respond to what needed to
be done by way of help for local areas.
11. This series of community conversations were inspired from the community-led “Peckham Wall of Love”,
where local people set up a space to post their messages on what they thought of the disturbances and their
affection for their local neighbourhood. The Wall has been retained by the Council as a symbol of the positive
and constructive community response to the disturbances and the community conversations continue.
12. The first community conversation took place in Peckham and local people were only too happy to share
their thoughts on what happened during the disturbances, what some of the causes may have been and how to
move forward positively. One typically heartfelt response was:
“They stole from shops, frightening behaviour towards normal citizens, destroying property that is important
to the community. Opportunism, a way of stealing, taking stuff from electrical shops like Comet and other
shops like the clothes shops, trainers and all that sort of thing.
Public relations are good, we live in a multi-cultural society in Peckham, and I think tolerance towards one
another is important and respect for one another is important. I try my best to behave like this.
People need to use their conscience more. I try to get on with my neighbours and show kindness and show
respect. I am interested in how we treat one another. I try to turn the other cheek and still forgive them.”
13. What is becoming clear is that local people identify no single cause to the disturbances or simple solution
for delivery. People’s comments highlighted the complexity of trying to analyse the disturbances at this time.
The council would be pleased to share other findings from our community conversations and outcomes of local
research and analysis to help inform the committee’s work.
September 2011
Written evidence submitted by Zero Meridian (London chapter) of the
National Association of Seadogs (NAS)
On 5 August 2011, a young black man, Mark Duggan, aged 29, was fatally shot by police in Tottenham,
North London. A few days later during what was meant to be a peaceful demonstration in front of Tottenham
Police Station, organised by or on behalf of the family of the deceased and well-meaning members of the
community seeking some clarification on the circumstances surrounding the shooting incident, wanton violence
broke out that resulted in the looting and burning down of local businesses and substantial damage to local
properties.
The crowd that gathered at the otherwise peaceful demonstration, according to media reports, became
agitated by the reluctance of the police to offer any explanation or clarification as to the fatal shooting of
Mark Duggan.
There was widespread conflicting media reports suggesting that the deceased was a gangster who had fired
upon the police wounding one of them in the process and he in turn was shot by police in an act of selfdefence.
This account of events was later found to be inaccurate forcing the otherwise taciturn Independent
Police Complaint Commission (IPCC) uncharacteristically to correct this wrong impression. However, it was
too little too late to avert the tumultuous situation that had escalated in the interim.
Meanwhile, the peaceful demonstration in front of Tottenham police station deteriorated as tempers flared
as a result of the police maintaining a determined silence and the IPCC’s reluctance to swiftly quell the
unfounded rumours that were circulating about the shooting. The situation rapidly became an outright carnage
where local criminals began targeting local businesses for the single purpose of looting and destruction.
Within hours, the disturbances spread to other parts of the City and eventually to other major cities in
England. The disorder that was on a very large scale was unprecedented and led to complete breakdown of
law and order for a number of days involving a number of young people across the racial divide.
Initially, it appeared that the police were unable to cope with the intensity and scale of the riot either due to
lack of numbers, equipment and intelligence or just its sheer magnitude combined with the skill of the
organisers of the riots who initially appeared to have out-manoeuvred the police in terms of logistics.
Extensive television coverage demonstrated that young people were involved in large scale looting and arson
incidents that involved the stealing of expensive items such as flat screen television sets, mobile phones,
trainers and other luxury items such that it was clear, considering the scale of the looting, that this was not a
disturbance that was aimed at burning down public buildings or institutions, as previous riots in the 1980s in
Brixton, Tottenham and Toxteth, but systematic targeting of small businesses for choice items.