C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 08 LONDON 24287
E.O.12356: DECL: OADR
TAGS: SOCI PINS UK
SUBJECT: URBAN VIOLENCE IN BRITAIN -- THE CHALLENGE
OF A RACIAL UNDERCLASS WORRIES THIS
CONSERVATIVE SOCIETY
¶1. CONFIDENTIAL - ENTIRE TEXT.
¶2. SUMMARY. DEPRESSED AREAS IN SEVERAL OF THE
U.K.'S INNER CITIES ERUPTED IN RIOTS IN THE PAST
MONTH. THE BRITISH SEE MANY OF THEIR DOMESTIC WOES
THROWN INTO HIGH RELIEF BY THE RIOTS AND THE
SUBSEQUENT NATIONAL DEBATE ABOUT CAUSE, EFFECT, AND
WHO IS TO BLAME. THE RIOTS HAVE HIGHLIGHTED:
--- THE LONG-TERM ECONOMIC MALAISE IN BRITAIN, WITH A
HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND A NEAR-COLLAPSE OF THE
SMOKE-STACK INDUSTRIES IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND;
--- RACIAL TENSION BETWEEN WHITE BRITAIN AND THE
BLACK AND ASIAN POPULATIONS WHO HAVE SETTLED IN THE
U.K. SINCE THE 1950'S;
--- PERSISTENT PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL DISADVANTAGE IN
AREAS OF THE INNER CITY, WHICH EXTEND TO HOUSING,
EDUCATION, INCOME, AND EMPLOYMENT;
--- A VIGOROUS NEW DRUG CRACKDOWN WHICH IS
INADVERTENTLY THREATENING THE UNEASY BALANCE BETWEEN
POLICE AND COMMUNITIES IN MANY INNER CITY AREAS;
--- THE PROBLEM OF POLICING THE MULTI-ETHNIC INNER
CITIES EFFECTIVELY AND SENSITIVELY WITH A NEARLY
ALL-WHITE POLICE FORCE WHICH IS FACING NUMEROUS
POLITICAL PRESSURES AT PRESENT;
--- THE LACK OF AN AGREED RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM ON
THE PART OF BRITAIN'S NATIONAL POLITICAL LEADERS.
ALL THE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE RIOTS ARE AND
HAVE BEEN PRESENT IN THE U.S., AND IN GREATER
MEASURE, AND THE RIOT DESTRUCTION HERE IS ON A MUCH
SMALLER SCALE THAN IT WAS IN THE U.S. URBAN UPHEAVALS
OF TWO DECADES AGO. THE AMERICAN RESPONSE (EEO
LEGISLATION, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, GIVING MINORITIES
GREATER AVENUES FOR POLITICAL EXPRESSION) RESULTED IN
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN SOCIETAL STRUCTURE AND
POLITICS IN THE U.S. IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHETHER
THE BRITISH POLITICAL SYSTEM WILL PROVE FLEXIBLE
ENOUGH TO MEET THE CHALLENGE THIS UNREST POSES. WITH
THE AUTUMN CHILL COMING, THE RIOTS MAY HAVE ABATED,
BUT WHEN THE WEATHER GETS WARM AGAIN, IF NOT BEFORE,
THERE COULD BE A REPEAT OF THESE INCIDENTS. END
SUMMARY
ARE THEY DEPRESSED BECAUSE THEY'RE DEPRIVED?
--------------------------------------------
¶3. HEADLINES IN THE U.K. IN THE PAST MONTH HAVE
RECORDED CLASHES BETWEEN RIOTERS AND POLICE, THE
KNIFING TO DEATH OF ONE POLICEMAN, AND CROWDS OF
YOUTHS PELTING BRICKS, STONES, AND MOLOTOV COCKTAILS
AT RIOT-SHIELDED POLICE IN THE DEPRESSED AREAS OF
LONDON, BIRMINGHAM, LIVERPOOL, AND LEICESTER. FOUR
YEARS AGO, AFTER SIMILAR SCENES IN THE BRIXTON
NEIGHBORHOOD OF LONDON, LORD SCARMAN, THE JUDGE WHO
HEADED A COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, FOUND THAT THE
PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF THE RIOTS WERE: UNEMPLOYMENT,
POOR HOUSING, LACK OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
PROSPECTS FOR YOUTHS, POOR RELATIONS BETWEEN THE
COMMUNITY AND THE POLICE, AND AN INCREASINGLY LARGE
NUMBER OF BLACKS WHO FELT ANGRY AND ALIENATED FROM A
SOCIETY WHICH THEY PERCEIVED AS RACIST AND HOSTILE.
¶4. THE RIOT AREAS ARE SHARPLY MORE ETHNIC AND
YOUNGER THAN THE POPULATION AS A WHOLE. THE OVERALL
PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES HEADED BY A WEST INDIAN,
INDIAN, OR PAKISTANI IN BRITAIN IS 4.7 PERCENT, BUT
IN THE HANDSWORTH AREA OF BIRMINGHAM, THE FIGURE IS
53.1 PERCENT. THERE IS ALSO A CONCENTRATION OF YOUNG
PEOPLE IN THE RIOT AREAS; THE PERCENTAGE OF THE
POPULATION THAT IS BETWEEN 16 AND 24 IN HANDSWORTH IS
CLOSE TO 40 PERCENT, WHEREAS IN BRITAIN AS A WHOLE IT
IS ABOUT HALF THAT.
¶5. MUCH OF THE SITUATION IN THE INNER CITIES WHICH
SCARMAN POINTED TO AS CONTRIBUTING TO THE RIOTS OF
1981 HAS NOT CHANGED. IN FACT, THE PAST FEW YEARS
HAVE SEEN THIS PICTURE GROW BLEAKER. UNEMPLOYMENT
FIGURES IN HANDSWORTH STAND AT OVER 30 PERCENT, AND
IN TOXTETH IN LIVERPOOL, ANOTHER RIOT SITE, AT 47
PERCENT.
¶6. THE INNER CITIES HAVE THE HIGHEST NATIONAL RATES
OF MENTAL HOSPITAL ADMISSION IN BRITAIN, THE HIGHEST
PERCENTAGE OF SINGLE-PARENT HOMES (TWICE THE NATIONAL
AVERAGE) AND THE MOST HOUSES DECLARED UNFIT FOR HUMAN
HABITATION. FOR MANY THE PROSPECTS FOR ESCAPING
UNEMPLOYMENT SEEM INCREASINGLY NON-EXISTENT; THE
RATIO OF VACANCIES LISTED TO PEOPLE UNEMPLOYED WAS 1
TO 8 IN THE INNER CITIES IN THE DAYS OF THE FIRST
BRIXTON DISTURBANCES, BUT THE FIGURE IS NOW 1 TO 491,
ACCORDING TO A SEPTEMBER ARTICLE IN THE LONDON TIMES.
JUNE FIGURES IN TOXTETH WERE 10,000 INQUIRIES FOR 126
VACANCIES.
IS THERE AN UNDERCLASS?
------------------------
¶7. A CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE, HARD-CORE
UNEMPLOYMENT, AND DISINTEGRATION OF THE SOCIAL FABRIC
IN THE INNER CITIES IS NOT A NEW PROBLEM IN BRITAIN:
DICKENS DESCRIBED THE SQUALOR, OVER-CROWDING, AND
POVERTY IN BRITAIN'S CITIES OVER A CENTURY AGO. WHAT
HAS CHANGED IS THAT THE PEOPLE AFFECTED ARE
INCREASINGLY LIKELY TO BE MEMBERS OF MINORITY GROUPS.
PARTICIPANTS IN THE RECENT RIOTS WERE BOTH BLACK AND
WHITE, AND STILL MANY OF THE POOREST PEOPLE IN
BRITAIN ARE WHITE, BUT THE NUMBER OF MINORITIES WHO
ARE "AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HEAP" IS VASTLY OUT OF
PROPORTION TO THEIR TOTAL NUMBERS IN THE POPULATION.
¶8. NATIONWIDE, THERE ARE STRIKING DIFFERENCES IN THE
EXPERIENCES OF WHITES AND MINORITIES IN HOUSING,
EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME. A STUDY RELEASED
LAST MONTH BY THE POLICY STUDY INSTITUTE, A
WELL-RESPECTED GROUP, REVEALED THAT BLACKS AND ASIANS
IN BRITAIN ARE ON AVERAGE FOUR TIMES AS LIKELY AS
WHITES TO BE PASSED OVER FOR JOBS FOR WHICH THEY
APPLY, A STATISTIC WHICH CANNOT BE ACCOUNTED FOR BY
DIFFERENCES IN EDUCATION OR TRAINING. WITH
COMPARABLE EDUCATION, THE SAME DIFFERENCE PERTAINS.
AMONG PEOPLE WITH ONE OR MORE "O" LEVELS (ABOUT THE
EQUIVALENT OF A U.S. HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA) THE
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 9 PERCENT FOR WHITES, 18 PERCENT
FOR ASIANS, AND 25 PERCENT FOR BLACKS. THE PROSPECTS
FOR THOSE WITHOUT THESE QUALIFICATIONS, AND IN AREAS
THAT HAVE BEEN HIT HARDEST ECONOMICALLY, ARE EVEN
BLEAKER.
¶9. BIRMINGHAM, THE SECOND LARGEST CITY IN BRITAIN
AND UNTIL 15 YEARS AGO THE SECOND WEALTHIEST WHEN
MEASURED BY AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME, IS NOW THE
POOREST CITY IN THE U.K. IT LOST 1/3 OF ITS
MANUFACTURING JOBS BETWEEN 1978 AND 1984, ACCORDING
TO THE FINANCIAL TIMES REGIONAL SURVEY. IN THAT SORT
OF ECONOMIC CLIMATE, BREAKING INTO THE JOB MARKET IS
NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE, AND OF THOSE WHO LEFT SCHOOL AT 16
LAST SUMMER, ONLY 18 PERCENT OF WHITES, 16 PERCENT OF
ASIANS, AND 5 PERCENT OF BLACKS HAD FOUND WORK AT THE
END OF 6 MONTHS, ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
EMPLOYMENT.
¶10. LIVERPOOL SIMILARLY HAS DECLINED DRASTICALLY IN
RECENT YEARS. ACCORDING TO A SERIAL CASE STUDY OF THE
AREA PUBLISHED IN THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER, THERE WERE
11,000 DOCKWORKERS EMPLOYED IN THE PORT OF LIVERPOOL
IN 1972, BUT TODAY THERE ARE FEWER THAN 2,000.
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS IN TOXTETH EMPLOYED 22,000 THAT
YEAR, BUT NOW EMPLOY 2,000. UNEMPLOYMENT FOR
LIVERPOOL AS A WHOLE IS 21 PERCENT, BUT IN CERTAIN
POCKETS SUCH AS TOXTETH, THE RATE IS AT 70 PERCENT
FOR ADULTS AND 96 PERCENT FOR YOUTHS. FOUR-FIFTHS OF
TOXTETH'S CITIZENS RECEIVE SOME WELFARE BENEFITS.
CLEARLY IT IS NOT ONLY NON-WHITES WHO FACE MAJOR
OBSTACLES, BUT IT IS THE NON-WHITES WHO ARE MOST APT
TO FIND THEMSELVES STYMIED AS MEMBERS OF AN ECONOMIC
AND RACIAL UNDERCLASS.
¶11. DIFFERENCES IN HOUSING BETWEEN BLACKS AND WHITES
ARE STRIKING. ACCORDING TO THE POLICY STUDIES
INSTITUTE'S COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY "BLACK AND WHITE
BRITAIN", BLACK HOUSEHOLDS ARE TWICE AS LIKELY AS
WHITES TO SHARE A DWELLING. FOUR TIMES AS MANY ASIANS
AND THREE TIMES AS MANY WEST INDIANS AS WHITES LIVE
IN OVERCROWDED CONDITIONS, DEFINED AS TWO OR MORE
PEOPLE TO A BEDROOM. OVER HALF THE PAKISTANI-HEADED
FAMILIES IN BRITAIN LIVE IN HOUSES WITHOUT HOT WATER,
INDOOR TOILETS, AND BATHS, WHEREAS THE FIGURE FOR
WHITES IS 17 PERCENT.
¶12. THERE ARE DEEP DIFFERENCES IN THE MEASURED
EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS OF WHITES AND
MINORITIES. CHILDREN OF WEST INDIAN PARENTS ARE FOUR
TIMES AS LIKELY AS WHITE CHILDREN TO BE CLASSIFIED AS
EDUCATIONALLY SUBNORMAL. AND FEW BLACK YOUNGSTERS GO
BEYOND SECONDARY EDUCATION. THE PROBLEM, ACCORDING
TO ONE ANALYST, IS NOT SO MUCH OUTRIGHT
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE BLACK CHILDREN AS
"WELL-MEANING LOW EXPECTATION" ON THE PART OF
TEACHERS. TEACHERS DECIDE SUBCONSCIOUSLY THAT THE
CHILDREN ARE LIKELY TO BE FAILURES AND GIVE UP ON
THEM, LEAVING THEM TO MARK TIME IN REMEDIAL EDUCATION
UNTIL THEY CAN LEAVE SCHOOL AT 16.
¶13. THE AVERAGE WAGE FOR BLACKS IN BRITAIN REMAINS
20 POUNDS LESS PER WEEK THAN FOR WHITES. ASIANS EARN
18 POUNDS LESS, ACCORDING TO THE COMMISSION FOR
RACIAL EQUALITY, AND THIS STARTS FROM THE LOW
NATIONAL AVERAGE FOR WHITES OF ONLY 139 POUNDS PER
WEEK.
¶14. FROM BEHIND THESE STATISTICS EMERGES A PICTURE
OF AN ALIENATED THIRD-WORLD NATION WITHIN BRITAIN, AN
UNDER-CLASS OF THE DEPRIVED, THE HOPELESS, AND THE
DISPOSSESSED, IN LARGE PART BUT BY NO MEANS ENTIRELY
MADE UP OF MINORITES.
WHO ARE THE RACIAL MINORITIES?
-------------------------------
¶15. UNTIL RECENTLY, MOST IN THE U.K. BELIEVED THEY
LIVED IN A RACIALLY HOMOGENEOUS SOCIETY. BRITONS
LOOKED ON RELATIVELY COMPLACENTLY WHILE AMERICA
STRUGGLED WITH RACIAL ISSUES IN THE 1960'S: "WE DON'T
HAVE SUCH TROUBLES HERE". THE ONE ACERBIC EXCEPTION
CAME IN 1968, WHEN ENOCH POWELL, A CONSERVATIVE M.P.,
MADE A NOTORIOUS SPEECH IN WHICH HE PREDICTED "RIVERS
OF BLOOD" IN THE STREETS IF THE TIDE OF ASIAN AND
AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS WAS NOT STEMMED. HOWEVER CRUDELY
AND UNACCEPTABLY TO MOST OF HIS AUDIENCE, HE HAD PUT
HIS FINGER ON A PROBLEM; BRITAIN APPEARS UNPREPARED
TO DEAL WITH THE PROFOUND CHANGE IN THE COMPLEXION OF
ITS SOCIETY WHICH HAS BEEN BROUGHT ABOUT BY AN INFLUX
OF IMMIGRANTS. THEY CAME FROM THE COMMONWEALTH AT
FIRST, AND WERE FOLLOWED BY IMMIGRANTS RECRUITED FROM
THE CARIBBEAN TO FILL WORLD WAR II LABOR SHORTAGES.
IMMIGRATION GREW AS TROUBLES AFFLICTED ONE
POST-COLONIAL TERRITORY AFTER ANOTHER IN THE 50'S AND
60'S. THOSE WHO WANTED TO MOVE COULD USE THEIR
COMMONWEALTH PASSPORTS, A POSSIBILITY WHICH WAS
REDUCED BY CHANGES IN THE LAW IN THE LAST DECADE.
¶16. STILL, THERE ARE ONLY ONE MILLION BLACKS AND
BROWNS IN BRITAIN, OUT OF A POPULATION OF 54 MILLION,
AND BY NOW HALF OF THESE ARE BRITISH-BORN. BUT THEIR
OUTSIDER STATUS PERSISTS. THEY ARE STILL
DISPROPORTIONATELY STUCK AT THE THE LOWER END OF THE
PAY SCALE, IN SHIFTWORK AND PART-TIME WORK. OF THOSE
IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR CHILDREN IN THE U.K. WHO HAVE
FOUND WORK, 50 PERCENT ARE ESTIMATED TO BE
OVERQUALIFIED EDUCATIONALLY FOR THE WORK THEY DO,
ACCORDING TO THE BOOK "STAYING POWER: A HISTORY OF
BLACK PEOPLE IN BRITAIN", BY PETER FRYER.
¶17. BRITAIN HAS ALWAYS BEEN A STRATIFIED SOCIETY,
WITH EACH NEW GENERATION INHERITING THE
CHARACTERISTICS AND ATTITUDES THAT PRESERVED THE
CLASS STRUCTURE AND ITS OWN PLACE WITHIN IT. AS SUCH
IT WAS ILL-PREPARED TO IMPORT AND ASSIMILATE MILLIONS
WHO WERE OUTSIDE OF THIS FAMILIAR WORLD ORDER, AND
WHO IN MANY CASES HAD THEIR OWN CULTURAL TRADITIONS
AND DID NOT ASPIRE TO SLIDE HORIZONTALLY INTO THE
BRITISH SYSTEM. MANY BRITONS FEAR THE CONFUSING
CHANGES THAT THE IMMIGRANTS HAVE HELPED BRING INTO
THEIR FORMERLY BOUNDED AND ORDERLY WORLD. THEY VIEW
THE NEW-COMERS WITH SUSPICION AND WORSE.
¶18. POPULAR PRESS REPORTING OF THE RECENT RIOTS HAS
REFLECTED THE RABBLE-ROUSING RACISM WHICH IS STILL
EASY DISCOURSE IN MODERN BRITAIN. TABLOIDS DESCRIBE
THE "ZULU-STYLE WAR CRIES" OF THE RIOTERS AND
RE-CYCLE THE COMMENTS OF WHITES CALLING THEM
"BARBARIANS" AND "ANIMALS". BUT LIFE IS NOT SO
SIMPLE; AT LEAST A QUARTER OF THE YOUTHS IN THE MOB
AT TOTTENHAM, AND ONE HALF OF THOSE WHO APPEARED
BEFORE THE MAGISTRATE SUBSEQUENTLY, WERE ESTIMATED TO
BE WHITE. BOTH BLACK AND WHITE YOUTHS ARE NOW CHARGED
WITH THE MURDER OF THE POLICE CONSTABLE AT TOTTENHAM.
THE PUBLIC HOUSING NEAR MOST OF THE RIOT LOCALES IS
MORE INTEGRATED THAN WAS THE CASE IN THE U.S. IN THE
60'S; BROADWATER FARMS, THE PUBLIC HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT AT THE CENTER OF THE RIOTS IN LONDON'S
TOTTENHAM AREA, HOLDS APPROXIMATELY A 50/50 RACIAL
MIX.
¶19. IN ADDITION TO THE DIFFICULTY THE LARGER WHITE
POPULATION IS HAVING IN ABSORBING IMMIGRANT
POPULATIONS (THERE IS NO 'MELTING POT' TRADITION IN
BRITAIN), THERE ARE TENSIONS BETWEEN RACIAL GROUPS
AMONG THE IMMIGRANTS. THE TWO GROUPS WHICH HAVE
IMMIGRATED IN THE LARGEST NUMBERS ARE ASIANS
(PRIMARILY INDIANS AND PAKISTANIS) AND AFRO-
CARRIBEANS. THE BLACK IMMIGRANTS ARE SAID TO RESENT
THE RELATIVELY MORE PROSPEROUS ASIANS. THE ASIANS,
WHO TEND TO BE THE ONLY SHOPKEEPERS LEFT IN THE INNER
CITIES, HAVE BEEN ESPECIALLY HARD HIT BY THE LOOTING
AND BURNING THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE DURING THE RIOTS.
THE ONLY TWO CIVILIAN FATALITIES AS THE RESULT OF THE
RIOTING HAVE BEEN TWO ASIAN BROTHERS, KILLED WHEN
THEIR STORE IN HANDSWORTH WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND
AFTER THEY WERE LOCKED IN. PRESS ACCOUNTS NOTED THAT
THEIR STORE WAS THE PLACE THAT MOST OF THE LOCAL
RESIDENTS CASHED THEIR WELFARE CHECKS, AND THUS TO
SOME OF THE RIOTERS THE STORE MAY HAVE SYMBOLIZED THE
SYSTEM AGAINST WHICH THEY WERE LASHING OUT.
¶20. IT IS PERHAPS POSSIBLE TO OVERSTATE THE RIVALRY
BETWEEN ETHNIC GROUPS IN BRITAIN. THIS RIVALRY DOES
HAVE PARALLELS IN U.S. CITIES, SUCH AS THE RESENTMENT
CERTAIN BLACKS EXPRESSED AGAINST CUBANS IN THE MIAMI
RIOTS, AND IT HAS SIMILAR CAUSES.
¶21. BLACKS COMPLAIN THAT THEY ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE
GIVEN WHAT FEW FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE FOR SMALL BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CITIES. (SINCE 1981 CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT HAS ALLOCATED ONLY 200,000 POUNDS FOR THIS
PURPOSE TO THE RIOT AREA OF HANDSWORTH, IN SPITE OF
THE SCARMAN REPORT, WHICH EMPHASIZED HOW EFFECTIVE
SUCH GRANTS WOULD BE IN REHABILITATING THE RIOT
AREAS.) THESE COMPLAINTS ARE SUPPORTED BY STATISTICS;
OVER 50 PERCENT OF APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS FOR SMALL
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (INNER CITY PARTNERSHIPS) WERE
SUBMITTED BY BLACKS, BUT THEY ULTIMATELY RECEIVED
ONLY 13 PERCENT OF THE GRANTS. ASIAN BUSINESSES
FOUNDED WITH THESE GRANTS ARE ALMOST INVARIABLY
FAMILY OPERATED AND RARELY EMPLOY BLACKS.
¶22. THERE IS LITTLE IN THE WAY OF A BLACK MIDDLE
CLASS IN BRITAIN. THE ONLY ROLE MODELS THAT BLACK
PEOPLE HAVE IN THE ESTABLISHMENT ARE MUSICIANS,
SPORTS FIGURES, AND A HANDFUL OF T.V. JOURNALISTS, AS
THERE ARE NO NATIONAL LEADERS, NO MEMBERS OF
PARLIAMENT, AND ONLY ONE LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADER WHO
IS BLACK (AND EVEN HE WAS NOT ELECTED DIRECTLY IN THE
STYLE OF U.S. MAYORS). ASIANS, BY CONTRAST, DO HAVE
ROLE MODELS IN BUSINESS AND COMMERCE, AND THEY HAVE
THEIR OWN RELIGIOUS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS. THUS,
ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT FULLY ACCEPTED INTO BRITISH
SOCIETY, ON THE WHOLE ASIANS ARE "PART OF THE
SYSTEM", AS ONE OBSERVER PUT IT.
THE POLICE: ARE THEY THE PROBLEM OR THE ANSWER?
--------------------------------------------- -
¶23. THE ROLE OF THE POLICE, AND THE RISING PRESSURES
ON THEM TO RESPOND TO SUCCESSIVE SOCIETAL CHALLENGES
IS WORRISOME TO MANY HERE. FIRST IRA TERRORISM, THEN
POLICING THE MINERS' STRIKE, AND NOW THE INNER CITY
STRIFE HAVE STRETCHED THEM DANGEROUSLY THIN.
MEANWHILE, THE POLICE FORCES WHICH ARE NOW BEING
ASKED TO CONTAIN THE URBAN UPHEAVALS ARE OFTEN LESS
THAN ONE PER CENT BLACK OR ASIAN (OVERALL, 700
MINORITY POLICE OUT OF A FORCE OF 120,000, ACCORDING
TO NEWSPAPER SOURCES. LAST YEAR, HOWEVER, OF 1208
TRAINEES IN THE LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE, 36
BELONGED TO MINORITY GROUPS, A HIGHER PERCENTAGE THAN
IN PREVIOUS YEARS AND ABOUT IN PROPORTION TO
POPULATION. A WELL-PUBLICIZED STUDY PREPARED BY THE
INSTITUTE FOR RACE RELATIONS FOR THE ROYAL COMMISSION
ON CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND PUBLISHED IN 1979,
CHARACTERIZED MANY OF THE POLICE IN BRITAIN AS
RACIALLY INSENSITIVE, AND ALLEGED THAT MANY OF THEM
USE DEROGATORY LANGUAGE WHEN REFERRING TO MINORITIES,
THAT THEY STEREOTYPE BLACKS AS PIMPS AND LAYABOUTS,
AND THAT THEY CONSISTENTLY APPLY MORE PRESSURE AND
AGGRESSION IN ENCOUNTERS WITH BLACK CI|IZENS THAN
THEY WOULD WITH WHITES. THE NEGATIVE IMAGE OF THE
POLICE THAT THIS STUDY HELPED CREATE IS ONE FACTOR
THAT MAKES THE PRESENT RECRUITMENT OF MINORITIES INTO
THE POLICE SO DIFFICULT.
¶24. A RECENT BBC TELEVISION PROGRAM COMPARED THIS
SITUATION TO THAT IN THE NEW YORK POLICE FORCE, IN
WHICH 40 PERCENT OF LAST YEAR'S TRAINEES WERE BLACK,
AS A RESULT OF INTENSIVE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS AND,
MORE PROFOUNDLY, A RETHINKING OF THE ROLE AND
RELEVANCE OF THE POLICE IN THE CITIES. NOTHING ON
THIS SCALE IS CONTEMPLATED HERE, ALTHOUGH THERE HAVE
BEEN SOME HALF-HEARTED ATTEMPTS TO BOOST RECRUITMENT
OF MINORITIES, AND THE HOME SECRETARY HAS NOW URGED
THE METROPOLITAN POLICE TO HIRE MORE BLACKS.
¶25. ONE MUST ALSO NOTE, HOWEVER, THAT THE POLICE
FORCE HAS BEEN THE ONLY INSTITUTION TO TAKE THE 1981
SCARMAN REPORT TO HEART, AND REAL CHANGES HAVE
OCCURRED SINCE THEN. POLICE NOW TAKE TRAINING IN
CULTURAL SENSITIVITY AND RACE RELATIONS, AND THE
CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY POLICING (GETTING THE POLICEMAN
COMFORTABLE AND FAMILIAR WITH THE PEOPLE ON HIS BEAT,
AND THE PEOPLE USED TO THE PRESENCE OF THE POLICE)
HAVE MADE PROGRESS IN IMPROVING THE CLIMATE ON THE
STREETS. PERHAPS IT IS IRONIC THEN, THAT IT WAS
POLICE ACTIONS IN TWO INSTANCES WHICH APPEAR TO HAVE
SPARKED THE RIOTS. THE FIRST WAS THE ACCIDENTAL
SHOOTING IN SEPTEMBER OF A MIDDLE-AGED BLACK WOMAN,
OCCASIONED WHEN POLICE BROKE DOWN THE DOOR OF HER
HOUSE AND BURST IN, LOOKING FOR HER SON ON A WEAPONS
CHARGE. THE SHOOTING HAS LEFT HER A PARAPLEGIC, AND
HAS FOCUSSED RESENTMENT AGAINST WHAT IS SEEN AS
POLICE HEAVY-HANDEDNESS. THIS INCIDENT WAS FOLLOWED
CLOSELY BY THE DEATH OF A BLACK WOMAN DURING A SEARCH
OF HER HOME. ALTHOUGH SHE DIED OF HEART FAILURE, HER
FAMILY HAS CHARGED THAT THE POLICE WHO WERE
CONDUCTING THE SEARCH DELIBERATELY IGNORED HER PLEAS
FOR MEDICAL ATTENTION AND ALLOWED HER TO DIE
UNNECESSARILY FOR WANT OF AN AMBULANCE.
¶26. POLICE HEAVY-HANDEDNESS IS CITED REPEATEDLY AS A
CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO THE RIOTS. TWO SOCIOLOGISTS
WHO EXPLORED THE ROLE OF THE POLICE IN THE INNER
CITIES IN A MONOGRAPH PUBLISHED THIS SUMMER CONCLUDED
THAT THE POLICE WERE IN FACT CONSTANTLY MAKING THEIR
PRESENCE FELT TO YOUTHS IN THE HANDSWORTH AREA, BY
FREQUENTLY STOPPING THEM AND QUESTIONING THEM. THE
AVERAGE RATE AT WHICH YOUTHS WERE STOPPED FOR
QUESTIONING WAS FIVE TIMES PER YEAR, FOR BOTH BLACKS
AND WHITES. WHAT WAS PARTICULARLY STRIKING WAS THAT
ALTHOUGH THEY WERE STOPPED AT THE SAME RATE, BLACK
YOUNGSTERS DISTRUSTED THE POLICE MUCH MORE, AND THEIR
ATTITUDES WERE FAR MORE OFTEN HOSTILE. IT IS
INEVITABLE THAT POLICE WILL HAVE TO BE ACTIVE IN
NEIGHBORHOODS WITH HIGH CRIME RATES AND A HIGH
PERCENTAGE OF YOUTH (THOSE STATISTICALLY MOST LIKELY
TO COMMIT CRIMES). IT IS JUST AS INEVITABLE THAT
ENCOUNTERS UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES WILL CREATE
STRAINS. BUT IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT MANY BLACKS ARE
LASHING OUT AT THE POLICE, WHO SYMBOLIZE A SYSTEM
WHICH THEY FEEL IS HOSTILE TO THEIR INTEREST.
¶27. THE GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE RIOTS HAS BEEN TO
CALL FOR MORE SWEEPING POLICE POWER, AND
AUTHORIZATION OF THE USE OF TEAR GAS AND PLASTIC
BULLETS IN RIOT CONTROL (THE SAME PLASTIC BULLETS
WHOSE USE IS BEING SO HOTLY CONTESTED IN NORTHERN
IRELAND, WHERE THEY HAVE ON SOME RARE OCCASIONS
CAUSED DEATH). THE CONSERVATIVES, AS THE "LAW AND
ORDER" PARTY, HAVE MADE THEIR PRINCIPAL RALLYING CRY
FOR DEALING WITH THE RIOTS A PLEDGE FOR INCREASED
SUPPORT FOR THE POLICE, UNDER PRESSURE FROM THEIR
RIGHT AND MUCH OF THE MIDDLE CLASS IN BRITAIN, THE
"DECENT WORKING PEOPLE."
¶28. NONETHELESS, THE POLICE HAVE REACTED IN
FRUSTRATION TO THE CHARGES THAT HAVE BEEN LEVELED
AGAINST THEM. IN AN EMOTIONALLY CHARGED GATHERING
LAST WEEK, THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE METROPOLITAN
BRANCH OF THE POLICE FEDERATION, THE RANK AND FILE
ACCUSED THEIR LEADERS OF COWARDICE, SAYING THAT THEY
WERE AFRAID OF MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS FOR FEAR OF
POLITICAL OR PROMOTIONAL CONSEQUENCES. THE POLICE ON
THE BEAT COMPLAIN THAT THE BRAKES ARE PUT ON THEM BY
THEIR SENIOR OFFICERS AND BY LOCAL POLITICIANS. IN
TOTTENHAM, THE FIRST RIOT IN THE U.K. MAINLAND IN
WHICH GUNS WERE USED AGAINST THE POLICE, AND WHERE
ONE POLICEMAN WAS KILLED AND 163 INJURED, THE POLICE
WERE RESTRAINED FROM GOING INTO THE AREA EARLY ON TO
MAKE ARRESTS. THIS, POLICE CLAIM, WAS BUT A
CONTINUATION OF AN OFFICIAL "HANDS-OFF" POLICY WHICH
HAS FRUSTRATED THEM SINCE ITS INCEPTION AFTER
SCARMAN, AND WHICH THEY BELIEVE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR
THE HIGH CASUALTY RATE THAT FOLLOWED.
¶29. AT THE MEETING LAST WEEK, JOHN NEWMAN, A
CONSTABLE AND CHAIRMAN OF THE METROPOLITAN BRANCH OF
THE POLICE FEDERATION, DEMANDED AND WAS GRANTED A
"THOROUGH REVIEW OF POLICY AND TACTICS" BY
METROPOLITAN COMMISSIONER SIR KENNETH NEWMAN.
¶30. MINORITY AND OPPOSITION LEADERS HAVE COMPLAINED
THAT THE POLICE ONLY WANT STUDIES OF THE ISSUES THAT
SUIT THEM, AND NOTE THAT THE GOVERNMENT AND THE
POLICE HAVE REFUSED TO CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT INQUIRY
INTO THE TRIGGERING INCIDENTS OF TWO OF THE RIOTS.
THE POLITICS OF RACE
---------------------
¶31. THE THEME OF HOME SECRETARY HURD'S SPEECH AT THE
ANNUAL CONSERVATIVE CONFERENCE IN EARLY OCTOBER,
DIRECTED AT MINORITIES, WAS PARAPHRASABLE AS "YOU
HAVE THE RIGHTS, NOW EXERCISE SOME RESPONSIBILITY".
THE REALITY SEEMS TO BE THAT THESE RIGHTS APPEAR ALL
TOO THEORETICAL, AT BEST, TO MOST OF BRITAIN'S
MINORITIES.
¶32. MINORITY VOTERS, ESPECIALLY CARIBBEAN BLACKS,
HAVE VOTED FOR THE LABOR PARTY SO CONSISTENTLY THAT
THE CONSERVATIVES AND THE ALLIANCE HAVE LARGELY
WRITTEN THEM OFF, AND LABOR HAS TAKEN THEM FOR
GRANTED.
¶33. THERE ARE SOME STIRRINGS OF CHANGE. LABOR IS
GROPING WITH PLANS TO GIVE BLACKS SPECIAL RIGHTS
WITHIN THE PARTY STRUCTURE, A NUMBER OF ETHNIC ASIANS
ARE TENDING TOWARDS THE ALLIANCE, AND SOME SUCCESSFUL
BLACK AND ASIAN BUSINESSMEN FLIRT WITH THE TORIES.
MEANWHILE, LEGISLATION ON THE U.S. MODEL ALLOWING
GOVERNMENT TO WITHDRAW CONTRACTS FROM FIRMS THAT DO
NOT EMPLOY A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF MINORITIES WAS
RECENTLY PROPOSED BY THE HOME OFFICE. THIS PROPOSAL
IS CONTROVERSIAL AND UNLIKELY TO BECOME LAW BECAUSE
OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FAIRNESS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF
SUCH MEASURES. NEVERTHELESS, THE RIOTS MAY HAVE
FORCED THE PROBLEMS OF RACIAL MINORITIES BACK NEAR
THE TOP OF THE AGENDA. ONE JOURNALIST INTERVIEWING AN
ANGRY YOUTH ON THE STREETS OF HANDSWORTH CALLED THE
RIOTS POINTLESS, BUT THE YOUNG MAN COUNTERED "OH,
YEAH? HOW DO YOU FIGURE THAT? SOMETHING WILL BE
DONE." AND HE MAY BE RIGHT.
PARTY POLITICS: TOO LITTLE DONE, AND THAT TOO LATE
--------------------------------------------- -----
¶34. THE BROAD REACTION AMONG CONSERVATIVES TO THE
RECENT RIOTS WAS SPLIT: THE HARD-LINE GOVERNMENT
SUPPORTERS RESISTED CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS LINKING
POVERTY AND DEPRIVATION WITH THE URBAN UPHEAVALS AND
DESCRIBED THE RIOTS AS MERE "CRIMINAL OPPORTUNISM".
THIS POSITION WAS PORTRAYED BY THE OPPOSITION AS A
SELF-INTERESTED ATTEMPT BY THE TORIES TO WRIGGLE FREE
OF THEIR PART OF THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR BRITAIN'S
CONTINUING ECONOMIC DOLDRUMS AND THEIR RESULTS. OTHER
MORE LIBERAL TORIES PARTIALLY CONCURRED WITH THESE
SENTIMENTS; THEY CLAIMED THAT THE RIOTS PROVED WHAT
THEY HAD BEEN SAYING, I.E. THAT THE GOVERNMENT'S
PRIORITIES HAD TO BE RE-EXAMINED AND THE HARD LINE
REVISED. PRIME MINISTER THATCHER'S ARGUMENT THAT THE
WORKINGS OF AN UNFETTERED FREE MARKET WILL, IF LEFT
ALONE, CREATE JOBS TO RENEW BRITAIN HAS BEEN
RIDICULED BY THE OPPOSITION PARTIES, WHICH ASSERT
THAT UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES THREATEN BRITAIN'S CITIES
WITH HOSTILITY AND ALIENATION THAT LAISSEZ-FAIRE
ECONOMICS CANNOT RESOLVE. MRS. THATCHER'S RESPONSE TO
THE RIOTS WAS TO PLEDGE MORE EQUIPMENT AND MANPOWER
FOR THE POLICE, BUT HOME SECRETARY HURD HAS ALSO
ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE RIOT CAUSES MUST BE TREATED
TOO. THE OPPOSITION HAS OFFERED NO CONCRETE SOLUTIONS
OTHER THAN THE PRESERVATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF THE
WELFARE STATE, WHILE ALLIANCE AND LABOR LEADERS MUST
WELCOME THE FACT THAT THEY ARE NOT CURRENTLY IN POWER
AND HAVING TO DEFEND THEIR OWN RECORDS IN THE GLARE
OF THE BURNING CITIES.
¶35. THE CONSERVATIVES STRESS THE SIGNS OF ECONOMIC
UPTURN THAT OCCASIONALLY ARISE, SUCH AS NEW FIRMS
TAKING UP RESIDENCE IN BIRMINGHAM AND LIVERPOOL. THE
FIRMS WHICH THEY ARE REFERRING TO DO HAVE A POSITIVE
EFFECT ON ECONOMIC STATISTICS, BUT IN GENERAL ARE
HIGH-TECH, CAPITAL-INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES THAT EMPLOY
RELATIVELY FEW PEOPLE AND THOSE, HIGHLY SKILLED,
ACCORDING TO A CONGRESS OF BRITISH INDUSTRIES STUDY.
THUS THEY HAVE LITTLE EFFECT ON THE INNER CITY
UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS.
¶36. THE TORIES HAVE MADE THE REINING-IN OF LOCAL
GOVERNMENT SPENDING ONE OF THEIR PRIME TECHNIQUES FOR
REDUCING TOTAL GOVERNMENT SPENDING. IN PARTICULAR
PUBLIC SECTOR CAPITAL BUDGETS HAVE BEEN SEVERELY CUT
FROM 3.6 BILLION POUNDS IN 1979 TO 2.2 BILLION POUNDS
IN 1986. WHEN COMBINED WITH THE SALE OF COUNCIL
HOUSING TO ITS TENANTS, THE PUBLIC HOUSING STOCK HAS
BEEN REDUCED BY ONE-THIRD DURING A PERIOD IN WHICH
FUNDS FOR HOUSING RENOVATIONS HAVE NOT INCREASED IN
REAL TERMS. SCARMAN'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
IMPROVEMENTS IN HOUSING HAVE BEEN ALMOST ENTIRELY
IGNORED.
¶37. EDUCATIONAL REFORMS SUGGESTED BY SCARMAN
INCLUDED MORE AND BETTER NURSERY EDUCATION, MORE
TRAINING OF TEACHERS IN THE NEEDS OF MINORITY
CHILDREN, PROGRAMS TO TEACH ENGLISH TO IMMIGRANTS,
AND BETTER LINKS BETWEEN PARENTS AND SCHOOLS. NONE OF
THESE HAS BEEN FUNDED. IN FACT, ACCORDING TO THE
FINANCIAL TIMES, DESPITE A STATIC NURSERY-AGE
POPULATION IN BRITAIN, THE OVERALL CAPITAL SPENDING
FOR NURSERY EDUCATION HAS FALLEN FROM 41 POUNDS PER
CAPITA TO 24 POUNDS SINCE 1981.
¶38. SCARMAN RECOMMENDED THAT "POSITIVE
DISCRIMINATION" MIGHT BE NEEDED TO REDRESS THE
EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATIONAL GAPS BETWEEN WHITES AND
MINORITIES. (POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION IS BETTER KNOWN
IN THE U.S. AS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.) NO CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT ACTION RESULTED FROM THESE SUGGESTIONS,
ALTHOUGH PROGRAMS WERE ADOPTED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL IN
SOME AREAS.
WHAT ABOUT THE ROLE OF BRITAIN'S NEW DRUGS CRACKDOWN?
¶39. SEVERAL PAPERS HAVE SUGGESTED THAT EFFORTS AFTER
THE LAST RIOTS TO FORGE LINKS BETWEEN POLICE AND THE
COMMUNITY BY INCREASING POLICEMEN'S SENSITIVITY TO
THE COMMUNITIES THEY PATROL HAVE RESULTED IN THE
POLICE GOING "SOFT ON CRIME." FOR EXAMPLE, THE POLICE
ARE IN A DELICATE POSITION WHEN THEY ATTEMPT TO
ENFORCE ANTI-MARIJUANA LAWS IN AFRO-CARIBBEAN
COMMUNITIES, WHERE RASTAFARIANS SEE MARIJUANA AS AN
IMPORTANT RITUAL SUBSTANCE. INTERFERENCE WITH THIS
TRADITION IS LIKELY TO BRING TROUBLE DOWN UPON THE
HEAD OF THE OFFICER WHO IS SO BOLD AS TO STEP IN. AT
THE VERY LEAST HE INVITES CHARGES OF CULTURAL
INSENSITIVITY. MEANWHILE, IN MANY AREAS DRUG SALES
HAVE BECOME THE ONLY RELIABLE SOURCE OF INCOME AND
ADVANCEMENT FOR YOUNG BLACK GO-GETTERS.
¶40. IN THE PAST YEAR, HOWEVER, THE U.K HAS FOCUSSED
ON THE DAMAGE WHICH DRUG USAGE AND ITS ATTENDANT
CORRUPTION CAUSE, MINDFUL OF U.S. PROBLEMS, AND IT IS
ADOPTING IN A WHOLESALE FASHION U.S. ANTI-DRUG
TECHNIQUES. AS PART OF AN OVERALL POLICY WHICH
INCLUDES LONGER SENTENCES FOR DRUG DEALERS, AND NEW
TECHNIQUES TO SEIZE PROFITS FROM DRUG SALES, THE
POLICE HAVE BEEN PRESSED TO CRACK DOWN ON DRUGS, AND
THIS NEW DRUGS OFFENSIVE MAY HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE
SPARKS THAT FINALLY KINDLED THE TINDERBOX CITIES.
BIRMINGHAM'S RIOTS WERE PRECEDED BY TWO MAJOR RAIDS
RIGHT IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS WHICH WERE SOON TO BE THE
SCENE OF THE DISTURBANCES. THE HOME OFFICE HAS BEEN
RELUCTANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN THE
DRUGS SWEEP AND THE ERUPTION OF THE RIOTS, BUT A
BRIGHT LABOR M.P. FROM BIRMINGHAM TOLD US, WITHOUT IN
ANY WAY IMPLYING THAT DRUG DEALERS CAN BE ALLOWED
FREEDOM TO OPERATE, THAT HE KNOWS THE CONNECTION IS
EXPLICIT. THUS, IT APPEARS THAT THE POLICE ARE CAUGHT
ON THE FRONT LINES ENFORCING A NEWLY VIGOROUS AND
GENERALLY POPULAR ANTI-DRUGS POLICY, BUT ARE ALSO
TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH THE IMPACT THAT IT AND OTHER
SOCIAL PROBLEMS ARE HAVING ON BRITAIN'S CITIES.
CONCLUSION
----------
¶41. THE RIOTS MAY HAVE FORCED BRITAIN'S POLITICAL
LEADERS TO EXAMINE THEMSELVES AND DETERMINE
SUBSEQUENT ACTION TO REDRESS SOME VERY REAL AND THUS
FAR INTRACTABLE PROBLEMS. BUT IN THE MEANTIME WE ARE
LIKELY TO SEE MORE RIOTING AHEAD, WHICH WILL PUT
EXTRA STRAINS ON THIS CAUTIOUS, SLOW-TO-CHANGE
SOCIETY. WHILE THE ONSET OF WINTER MAY INHIBIT STREET
VIOLENCE, SPRING CANNOT BE FAR BEHIND.
