Are We Any Closer to Preventing Future Civil Unrest?

In the absence of a full government inquiry into the riots, the Runnymede Trust was concerned that ethnic inequality and racial injustice, as potential factors in the civil unrest, were too quickly dismissed and marginalised from public discussions. In October 2011, I was part of a research team that went to communities across England to speak to people about why these disturbances occurred and how we could prevent them from happening again. In particular, we wanted to understand the role that race played in the riots, if any at all.

Returning to a special double issue of the journal “Race and Class”, published just after the Brixton riots of 1981, I was struck by the similarity of the circumstances present in the build up to both disturbances. Today as then, there was rising unemployment, unequal access to quality housing and education, and a widening gap between rich and poor. The social contract between individuals and the state is failing, and in particular it is failing many black and minority ethnic (BME) people. In 2011, when peaceful demonstration and opposition to government cutbacks resulted in little or no change, the riots provided an opportunity for people to vent their frustrations. Our research found that rising unemployment levels, criminal injustices, growing levels of inequality and a general sense of hopelessness were among the reasons for people taking their anger into the streets.

Unemployment is at an all time high. If we look at black men specifically, their unemployment figures have increased disproportionately since 2008. Currently, 55.5% of economically active black men between the ages of 16 and 24 are unemployed. For that community, these numbers imply a severe crisis. While many commentators have pointed to public sector spending cuts as a potential cause of the riots, it is little known that public sector job cuts have a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities. Since we published our riots report, we have argued that while racial inequalities were not the sole reason for the civil disturbances last year, many of the causes for the riots will not be adequately addressed unless we tackle racial discrimination alongside broader issues of social injustice such as class prejudice.

It’s clear that there are some very unequal power relations at play, and the Runnymede Trust’s findings highlight a divide between those bearing the brunt of the public spending cuts and those in positions of power who appear to be unaffected, but are willing to point the finger at those devoid of any real command. When we spoke to communities across England, we did not see a ‘broken society’ – as David Cameron has called it – but a society that is breaking down as a consequence of a pervasive neoliberal agenda. Since the government established the Independent Riots Communities and Victims Panel, few new initiatives have been introduced to tackle the structural inequalities that were raised in the panel’s report. Instead, the government’s lacklustre response has been to roll out a number of initiatives that were in the pipeline before the riots.

The 2011 riots were a reaction to people’s oppressed and marginalised status, and a complete breakdown in relations between the police and the BME community. In the months before the riots, unprecedented numbers of stop and searches were reported in Tottenham, and recently published data from the Equality and Human Rights Commission shows that black people are up to thirty times more likely to be stopped than white people. None of these tensions are new. Similar reports surfaced after the 1981 riots, but for a younger generation, stop and search appears to have eroded any level of trust or respect for the police. We need enlightened public policies to transform this relationship. Instead we have seen a greater commitment to punitive measures and harsh sentences from the courts.

Let’s not forget that these riots erupted in response to the fatal shooting of a mixed raced man, a case of pure and simple police brutality. For the past eleven months, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has been conducting an investigation into Mark Duggan’s death – an investigation which has been marred by controversies and still hasn’t been concluded. Whilst the causes of civil unrest in 2011 have been discussed and analysed at length, Mark Duggan’s death remains unexplained.

It is apparent from the 1981 Race and Class journal and from our research that much remains to be done to tackle racial injustices and racial inequalities. If we are committed to eliminating the causes of civil unrest, creating more meaningful ways for political participation would be a good place to start. Most of us want to live in a more equal society with access to good education, employment and housing. People also want to be in positions where their voices make a difference. Once marginalised communities are allowed to move towards the centre of policy-making spaces, and when they have greater influence over the cards they are dealt, the potential for change increases dramatically.

We need initiatives to improve the political literacy and political engagement of young people from impoverished communities. This would offer alternatives to civil unrest as a means of expressing dissatisfaction with the government.

By Ojeaku Nwabuzo (@nwayo)