Blame Games: Riots and Responsibilities

Report commissioned by Guardian and LSE into the riots dug up the unsurprising finding that many people who were out on the streets in August are unhappy with the police. Interviews broadcast on World at One yesterday (5th December) had people on Clarence Road saying, “They’re horrible especially to black people” and “when they know you’re different they don’t like it.” Testimonies of discrimination and humiliation abound (see link above). Black people, an earlier LSE study showed, are 26 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people. Tim Orde, chairman of Association of Chief Police Officers, says people should take more responsibility.