Over a month after the large riots that swept Britain in August 2011, questions remain as to why the riots started, spread and ended when they did. Police and government officials have blamed general lawlessness, characterizing the rioters as just plain criminals. Others have pointed to Britain’s economic situation, poverty and recent austerity measures taken by the government as causes, with the spark lit by racism and brutality on the part of the police.
Indeed, the trigger for the initial riot appears to have been the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan, 29, a black North Londoner. Other police actions during the riots, including confrontations and unfounded searches, have been blamed for inciting further rioting. Attacks on police officers by rioters, and vice versa, were reported in all the affected areas. The riots lasted four days, covered many cities all around the country and have been labeled the worst unrest this generation has seen.
Despite the role of police in the riots, increased police presence appears to have been a major factor in ultimately stopping the unrest. On Tuesday, August 9, three days into the rioting, 16,000 police descended on London. Thousands more were deployed in Manchester, Birmingham and other hot spots. Curfews were in force. Prime Minister David Cameron warned the public that he had authorized the police to use water cannons to disperse the rioters.
This heavy police presence remained on the streets the following night, Wednesday, August 10. Courts remained open all night to process the high volume of riot-related arrests. That night, streets were calm.
The police had an additional ally: the weather. On August 10, it rained heavily all over the country. The rain drove would-be rioters indoors, literally dousing the fire. In contrast, the previous four days had been sunny and hot.
Throughout history, urban riots have tended to follow a similar pattern. The violence erupts during warm weather, usually very hot weather. Cooling temperatures see a cooling of the violence as well. Even if the weather remains good, the rioting tends to peter out in a matter of days, no matter what actions the government takes. That does not necessarily mean the issues that led to the rioting are resolved or that there will not be future riots.
British police have drawn criticism for taking no action during the first two days of the riots. Eyewitnesses reported that the police stood by and did nothing in many places where the violence was happening. When the police did take action, their actions, in at least some cases, were blamed for spurring further riots.
Cameron’s deployment of over 10,000 additional police officers three days into the riots represented a reversal of tactics. The Conservative government has portrayed the problem as simple criminality among the rioters and their stepped up law enforcement as the solution. It cannot be denied that arrests of the rioters left fewer to riot or that increased police presence, and increased likelihood of the police to take action, served as deterrents to at least some who would have taken part in the violence.
However, so many factors were involved in quelling the riots that we cannot definitively say which of them, if any, were the deciding factor. Did the police stop the largest riots this generation has known? Did the weather? Or did the riots simply die a natural death? These are questions that can be debated for centuries to come.
