What causes riots? An ex-policeman’s view

What causes riots? How do peaceful, civilised protests turn into violence and anarchy? It can take just a few factors. First, the unfortunate death of a criminal who has come into contact with police. Second, poor public relations from the police or IPCC, who are too often sluggish to explain what has occurred and why – especially in those communities with a history of distrust. Last, the involvement of a hard core of individuals with criminal intent, who become parasites on legitimate protest, twisting it into something much nastier.

If that makes the process sound like slow evolution, consider the pace at which the 2011 riots took hold. It all began on 4 August, a Thursday, when armed police shot dead Mark Duggan – reported by the media as a ‘violent gangster’ and later found to have been in possession of an illegal handgun. By Saturday, a 300-strong protest was marching on Tottenham police station, where no sufficiently senior officer was available to address the crowd.