Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Interesting figures for anyone that is interested regarding the riots in August.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14931987

In summary, I recall discussing this at the time and pointing out after a cursory 5 minutes watching the "interviews" with looters, that clearly none of them had the brains they were born with. They mentioned "bankers innit!" once or twice, but it was painfully obvious that it had nothing to do with bankers or greed or politics, and everything to with the fact that scumbags doing it just because they could.

In summary, three quarters of the rioters had at least one previous conviction. A quarter had TEN or more, and staggeringly, one in twenty had more than FIFTY priors.

So, are we being too harsh on sentences then!? If some bloke is still out on the streets despite having 50 prior's, surely were being too lenient aren't we?!

It's almost as if existing criminals use times of civil disorder as an opportunity to commit more crimes regardless of the initial causes of the disturbance

Matty, this is probably one of the rare instances where we agree. When I was young and growing up in London, the police were always giving us hassle, it was casual racism and it made a lot of good people turn bad.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not painting it as a rosy garden, and there were scallywags who deserved a kicking, but there was legitimate grievances in the community. Being the 1980s, black footballers got abused left right and centre, and there was never a feeling you could go far in life.
Nowadays though, people don't care. They're quite happy to **** on their dootsteps, because they believe the world owes them a living.

To refine my point - the fact that a sizeable percentage of the people arrested in connection with the riots had priors doesn't speak to the underlining causes at all, it could simply mean that criminals took advantage of the chaos to commit crimes during what must have seemed like an ideal opportunity.

The great tragedy of the riots is that the areas suffering the worst looting and arson were the poorest areas where the people already had it hard without having their shops looted and their apartments torched, and there isn't any excuse for a lot of what went on then.

On the other hand, the desperation of the government and the media to dismiss any underlying socioeconomic factors behind the start of the riots in the first place is transparent and narrow-minded, and promotes a dangerously simplistic outlook which could help foster similar disturbance in the future.

This doesn't prove anything about the underlying cause of the riot itself, only that a lot of criminals unsurprisingly commited crimes that day.

Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:They're quite happy to **** on their dootsteps, because they believe the world owes them a living.

Except they didn't. Other stats show that the majority rioters came from areas outside the rioting. They were happy to **** on other people's doorsteps.

More importantly how many of them had a father figure who'd give them a clip round the ear when they were young if they did something bad? These people simply do not recognise any authority whatsoever.

A Kvlt Ghost wrote:It's almost as if existing criminals use times of civil disorder as an opportunity to commit more crimes regardless of the initial causes of the disturbance

Wins thread.

They are talking about shooting arsonists from now on.

Live ammunition, non of this rubber pish...

They won't do it though...

*sigh*

Medium of Death wrote:They are talking about shooting arsonists from now on.

Live ammunition, non of this rubber pish...

They won't do it though...

*sigh*

If only they would arm the police with super-soakers...

Interesting. I could get behind shooting arsonists. fethers put a lot of lives at risk with their crap, and it shouldn't be tolerated.

More importantly how many of them had a father figure who'd give them a clip round the ear when they were young if they did something bad?

That's child abuse nowadays sonny, get with the 21st century! It's for the children!

A Kvlt Ghost wrote:To refine my point - the fact that a sizeable percentage of the people arrested in connection with the riots had priors doesn't speak to the underlining causes at all, it could simply mean that criminals took advantage of the chaos to commit crimes during what must have seemed like an ideal opportunity.

The great tragedy of the riots is that the areas suffering the worst looting and arson were the poorest areas where the people already had it hard without having their shops looted and their apartments torched, and there isn't any excuse for a lot of what went on then.

On the other hand, the desperation of the government and the media to dismiss any underlying socioeconomic factors behind the start of the riots in the first place is transparent and narrow-minded, and promotes a dangerously simplistic outlook which could help foster similar disturbance in the future.

This doesn't prove anything about the underlying cause of the riot itself, only that a lot of criminals unsurprisingly commited crimes that day.

You pick any place on Earth, and when civil disorder sets in the pre-existing criminal element will use that as a cue to start stealing gak.

That doesn't mean there aren't social problems in a society, but let's not kid ourselves about what was really going on, beecause it was the same gak that goes on every time the social order breaks down.

A Kvlt Ghost wrote:It's almost as if existing criminals use times of civil disorder as an opportunity to commit more crimes regardless of the initial causes of the disturbance

THREADISOWNED.

They are 'poor', therefore everything they do, no matter how awful, is society's fault, not theirs.

I thought everyone knew that already.

I found the age profile in that article very interesting.



Just about half the people arrested for rioting were under 20.

Anyone gonna watch Dispatches on Channel 4 this Thursday? Tis all about those pesky kids and thier riotus ways....Should lend a bit more light on the subject.

Easy E wrote:Just about half the people arrested for rioting were under 20.

interesting....it would appear that the over 40's are a very slippery bunch, using their zimmer frames and mobility scooters to escape with the loot! Either rioting has become a young persons sport or the older rioters are better at escaping prosecution!

Risk taking behaviour is far more common in young people.

s.j.mccartney wrote: Either rioting has become a young persons sport or the older rioters are better at escaping prosecution!

Neither. Rioting was always a young man's game. It's because young people tend to think with their feelings.

Albatross wrote:They are 'poor', therefore everything they do, no matter how awful, is society's fault, not theirs.

See, I think this post actually won the thread.