Lesson Starter

1. Lesson Starter

2. Crime and the Law in the UK The London Riots

3. What will I learn? • Discuss and evaluate the death of Mark Duggan as a cause of the London Riots. • Evaluate and analyse as part of a group the other causes of the London Riots. • Evaluate the views of those involved in the riots, the public and politicians.

4. Success Criteria • I can discuss and successfully evaluate the death of Mark Duggan as a cause of the London Riots. • I can successfully evaluateand analyse as part of a group the causes of the London Riots. • I can discuss and evaluatethe views of those involved in the riots, the public and politicians.

5. Use the Post-it Notes to write down 1 piece of information that you know about the London Riots.Place it on the board under one of the following headings:What was it? What caused it? What was the impact of it? London Riots

6. Focus – London Riots Background Information • August 2011 • Mark Duggan, a young black man was shot dead by the police in Tottenham Hale, London. • Duggan was said to be a senior member of a gang called Tottenham Man Dem. • He had previously been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and possession of guns, and on the day that he was shot he was being followed by police. • They suspected him of carrying a gun. • Initial police reports stated that he had shot at police, this was later found to be false.

7. Focus – London Riots • Two days later on Saturday 6th August, Mark Duggan’s family and friends marched to the police station in Tottenham to protest about Mark’s shooting and the way that they police had handled the case. • Although the initial protest was peaceful it had turned to violence by night. • By Monday 8th August the riots had spread through 12 London areas and to other major cities in England. • 5 people died. • Hundreds of businesses and homes were lost to fires and looting. • It is estimated that the riots cost Britain half a billion pounds.

9. Riot Related Crimes

10. Impact and Cause of the London Riots • Look at the information opposite. • What was the impact of the London Riots? • What information could be used as a cause of the London Riots?

11. What caused the London Riots? Some people have stated that it was the death of Mark Duggan that triggered the London Riots, while others believe that therewas no one single motivating factor for the riots but a range of motivations from the need for new trainers to a desire to attack society. • Group Work • Use your knowledge of crime and what you have seen on the BBC News clip. • What do you think may be a reason for people to riot? • Try to come up with 3 or 4 possible reasons.

12. What caused the London Riots? • Death of Mark Duggan • people (mainly young) felt that the police had unlawfully shot and killed him. • Weak policing • Lack of confidence in the police response to the initial riots encouraged people to test reactions in other areas. • The Sun said it was "crazy" that water cannons were not available to officers, and that Parliament "must not be squeamish" about the use of tear gas and baton rounds. • Police were criticised about tactics during the G20 protests in London in 2009. Officers may be afraid of taking on the rioters directly for fear of legal action. • Prof Wilson who studied the riots stated: "Several of the rioters who were interviewed clearly enjoyed the feeling of being powerful. They were encouraged to feel that the cities in which they were misbehaving belonged to them.” • Rioters believed they would be able to loot and damage without being challenged by the police. In the hardest hit areas, they were correct.

13. What caused the London Riots? • Reading the Riots – joint study by the Guardian newspaper and the London School of Economics into the cause of the riots. They spoke to those involved in the riots, including police and victims. • 85% felt that policing was an ‘important’ or ‘very important’ factor in why the riots happened. • Rioters stated: ‘The police is the biggest gang out there’ and ‘They just generally class you as someone that’s bad like that.’ • Only 7% question said that the police were doing a ‘good’ or ‘excellent job’. • ‘Stop and search’ was cited as a major source of discontent with the police. This concern was widely felt by young Black and Asian men who felt it was not always carried out with appropriate respect. • 73% said that they had been searched in the past 12 months. This is 8 times higher than the general population in the in London.

14. London Riots : Mark Duggan’s partner talks to Channel 4 News What does Mark Duggan’s partner blame for the riots?

15. Peckham Riots: The Voices of Young People What do the people of Peckham blame for the riots?

16. What caused the London Riots? • Poverty – rioters cited poverty as one of the most important causes of the riots. • Research by the Home Office found that those arrested and appearing in court on rioting charges were from deprived backgrounds. • 35% claimed out-of-work benefits (compared to only 12% for the whole of Britain) • 42% had free school meals. This is only available to 16% of secondary school pupils in England from the poorest families. • 58% lived in the 20% most deprived areas in England. • 75% had a previous conviction. • Kids Company charity founder Camila Batmanghelidjh blamed a society in which the "established community is perceived to provide nothing [to society]... It's not one occasional attack on dignity, it's a repeated humiliation, being continuously dispossessed in a society rich with possession".

17. What caused the London Riots? • Spending Cuts • Labour's candidate for London Mayor in 2012, Ken Livingstone, suggested that austerity measures were responsible: "If you're making massive cuts, there's always the potential for this sort of revolt against that." • It's too soon to say this, Prof Fitzgerald says. "The full implementation of the cuts to local authority services that will have the biggest impact on these areas will not be fully felt until next year. • "However, it may be that because there's been so much talk about police spending cuts, the rioters may have internalised the message that they're less likely to be caught."

18. What caused the London Riots? • Welfare Dependency • Sir Max Hastings, stated that "a perverted social ethos, which elevates personal freedom to an absolute, and denies the underclass the discipline - tough love - which alone might enable some of its members to escape from the swamp of dependency in which they live“ was to blame for the riots. • David Wilson a professor of criminology believes that there is a culture of entitlement. • "But it's not just about the underclass - it's about politicians, it's about bankers, it's about footballers. • "It's not just about a particular class, it permeates all levels of society. When we see politicians claiming for flat-screen TVs and getting jailed for fiddling their expenses, it's clear that young people of all classes aren't being given appropriate leadership."

19. What caused the London Riots? • David Lammy, MP for Tottenham • Believes that there is no one reason for the cause of the riots. Instead he thinks that there were a variety of causes and that the death of Mark Duggan provided the spark to ignite the riots. • His reasons include: • Poor education • Poor parental guidance • Poor role models • Lack of discipline • Unemployment • Lack of social amenities for young people

20. London Riots – Teen Gang members • What did the teenagers do during the riots? • Why did the teenagers take part in the riots? • What do the teenagers think about government priorities? • What do they suggest the government does to stop this? 5. Is it collectivist or individualist reasons that the gang members give for taking part in the riots? 6. What does the report state that the teenagers don’t have?

21. What caused the London Riots? • Consumerism • "These are shopping riots, characterised by their consumer choices," insisted Zoe Williams of the Guardian. She added: "This is what happens when people don't have anything, when they have their noses constantly rubbed in stuff they can't afford, and they have no reason ever to believe that they will be able to afford it." • In studies of street crime, this has been shown to be a factor, says Professor Fitzgerald."But with the recent riots, I'm not so sure - in the context of looting, it's about taking what you can. As well as mobile phones and clothes, there were plenty stealing petty things like sweets and cans of beer."

22. What caused the London Riots? • View of the Public • In an ICM poll, 86% of the general public cited poor parenting and criminality as the main cause of the riots. • Mail columnist Melanie Phillips wrote: ‘feral parents, too drunk or drugged or otherwise out of it’ were the cause of the riots. • View of David Cameron • ‘The riots were not about poverty. That insults the millions of people who, whatever the hardship, would never dream of making others suffer like this…[it comes down to] a lack of proper upbringing, a lack of proper ethics, a lack of proper morals.’ • View of the Police • Police interviewed as part of the Reading the Riots study said that worsening social and economic conditions was a potential cause. • They also felt that further disorder was likely.

23. What caused the London Riots? • Social Media • A defining characteristic of the riots was the blanket media coverage. The public witnessed 24-hour rolling news and near-constant reporting of events on social media channels. • Used by rioters during the riots to spread information and organise the rioting. • Some social media sites like Twitter allowed the police to see what rioters were planning. • However, BBM came under fire due to the closed nature of the social media site.

25. Social Media • Social Media was also used by those who helped with the clean up after the riots.

26. Use the Post-it Notes from the beginning of the lesson. Would you change any?What would you add to the board? London Riots

27. Opinion Corners “The London Riots were caused by greed and poor parenting.”

28. I can… • I can discuss the cost of alcohol and related crimes and express my opinion on where else this money could be spent. • I can identify the impact of alcohol and present my groups findings to the class. • I can identify the cost of drugs and related crimes. • I can construct a table with the impact of drugs on the individual, community and the government.