London Riots of 2011

Thoughts by Laurie Penny entited Panic on the streets of London on the recent riots in UK struck a cord and reminded me on the long history of similar riots. In London, the most historically significant ones are probably the riot of 1886 and 1887 which led to the Booth Inquiry The survey into life and labour of the people in London (1886-1903)], and the Bixton riot of 1981 which led to the Scarman Inquiry. Whether the riots of 2011, will go down in history as another landmark in the long list of "rediscovery of poverty", is something to be seen.

In the various field studies conducted in London, I recall visiting places where petty crimes are common and public services are scarce. If one thinks that areas with heavy policing is bad, one should face the reality that there are some parts of the city where no one (not even the police) wants to be there. Imagine living in a place where you can't turn to the police for aid, you don't get any mail, where you can't get a job just by having a certain postal code. That is the sad reality that some people live in. This is where there is almost no access not just to public services, but even to the possibility of getting out of poverty.

There is no easy solution to this endemic issue, and it is impossible to wish it all away. Yet, if we choose to continue to see it as a simple problem of crime and punishment, without having the commitment and determination to acknowledge and address the roots of the problem, such scenes will only continue.