Rioting:
view from
the ground
A research and
reflective report on
Birmingham young
person’s views: of the
High Street Rioting
and Looting Summer
2011
The Future Melting Pot
Commissioned from
Phil Rose
OCBC
Spring 2012
CONTENTS
PAGE
1
Acknowledgments
2
2
Executive Summary
3
3
List of Tables & Participant Sketches
4
4
Background to Report
6
5
Riot Map of Birmingham
7
6
Published Responses to the Riots to date
8
7
Research Methods used
13
8
Findings
15
8.2
Questionnaires
15
8.3
Focus Groups
22
8.4
Semi-structured Interviews
23
8.5
Civic Leaders Inquiry
24
9
Conclusions & Recommendations
26
10
References
29
1. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Researchers in the Future Melting Pot team of staff and volunteers undertook this work; to gather
data from interested young people. A team and inclusive approach was adopted to ensure as
wide a representation of views was gathered. It is acknowledged that the survey would not have
taken place without them.
The project team would particularly wish to acknowledge that a considerable number of workers in
the community contributed to the outcomes. Their contributed time and expertise, providing the
information for this report, was exemplary. We would also like to thank the many civic leaders who
took the time and effort to play a part in this inquiry.
Phil Rose
OCBC 2012
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
2
2. Executive Summary
The Future Melting Pot has undertaken the task of surveying young people on the riots in 2011
through their Outreach activities and team. Most of the published wisdom to date draws on the
views of authority, or responding to the events that took place. This could be the first that took the
views of the generation at the heart of the riots – those under 25 years of age.
A great deal has been published already on the riots and this report has undertaken a review of
those publications. Much is made in them of the reactions and responses to the riots and those
reflections are summarised. All of the publications reviewed examined the institutional or victims
viewpoint – not the young generation.
Three different methods were applied to the data gathering and they are reported upon here.
Reference is also made to the Public Persons Initiative were local leaders participated in an early
dissemination for the findings in this report.
Surveys, semi-structured interviews and Focus Groups were conducted to talk to the under twenty
fives. The results are published here. They provide insight into their feelings, emotions and
reactions to the events. The answers demonstrate that young people are law abiding in the main
and disapprove of the rioting events. They present themselves as good citizens wanting a fair
society.
But the results also show that trust is low with them towards institutions and the public faces of
those public bodies that enforce the rules and the main media interests.
They paint an interesting picture of the view from a generation, its disgust at the events and their
mistrust of the establishment’s response to them and the riots.
A considered set of conclusions reflecting on the motives and causal reasons behind the riots are
delineated. A set of practical recommendations are drawn together at the end of the report giving
suggestions a number of positive solutions to combat future incidents of this kind.
Phil Rose
OCBC
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
3
LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND IMAGES
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Arrests by Age in West Midlands
Map of Riot Area in Birmingham
Age Profile of those Questionnaires completers
Were they aware of the riots
Following the Riots with which media
What age were the rioters
Did you know people who took part
Causes of the Riots
Do you feel part of your community
Is Media coverage fair to young people
Are young people taken seriously
Issues facing young people
What is your opinion of the police?
Did your opinion of police change after the riots
Has your opinion changed
Questions for authorities
What would you do
Range of Emotions
Motives
PAGE
6
7
15
15
16
16
17
17
18
18
19
19
20
20
21
21
22
23
24
Fifi, is studying 16, A-levels,
“We faced dark times, but maybe its about
time we learnt from our own mistakes.”
Mani, is studying 18, A-levels,
“We have been blessed with... brains to
think with, mouth to talk with, legs to walk
with, ears to hear with... for a purpose!
Some people forgot who they were,
what they were and where they were, to
the extend that they acted in
this upsetting way! Its time to change the
past, and use what we have been given
according to its purpose... “
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
Imani, 19 Student.
“Its time to stop playing
the blame game; rioting
isn’t the best way and I
think this is an example to
society that we all need to
work together as a
community to make
change”
4
PARTICIPANTS SKETCHES
PAGE
1
Fifi
4
2
Imani
4
3
Mani
4
4
MJ
5
5
Nathan
5
6
Jenni
5
7
Michael
5
MJ, 24 Unemployed
“As a young person if I see no hope
in tomorrow, why should I care
about today.”
Nathan, 31, Voluntary Company
Secretary
“Since the 2011 August riots I am
very concerned for the future of my
son, giving its impact on Young
People”
Nathan helped to gather people
and evidence for this report.
His help was crucial.
Jenni, 23, Freelance Writer
“Young people face plenty of
challenges but rioting isn't
the answer to them, it just
makes things worse.”
Michael, 28 Self employed
“Was disappointed that people
felt this was the way to act in
society.”
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
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4. Background to Report
TFMP
The philosophy of The Future Melting Pot (TFMP) is to enable and empower young people to
achieve their potential through enterprise. We believe that it is possible to creatively combine
social goals with financial success, and that young people have a huge amount of potential.
They work with a wide range of young people, including volunteers and graduate interns, as well
as entrepreneurs and professionals, in order to achieve their goals. They believe in respecting the
talents, creativity, perspectives and backgrounds of everyone, and think that partnership,
collaboration and social enterprise are all forces for good. Our aim is to create a flexible and
sustainable network of support and mentors that extends across Birmingham.
With this connectedness to youth and enterprise TFMP have been commissioned to engage with
young people to ask them what happened. What is the view from their generation – the one that
is at fault and blamed for it all. Using those partnerships and networks contact was made with
significant young people; sufficient to give this research validity as a statement of their views.
Defining the Constituency
“On Thursday 4 August 2011, Mark Duggan was shot by police officers in Ferry Lane,
Tottenham Hale, London. The incident was immediately referred to the Independent
Police Complaints Commission. On Saturday 6 August, the family and supporters of Mr
Duggan, numbering around 120, marched from the Broadwater Farm estate to Tottenham
police station to protest about the shooting. It was a peaceful protest but, later in the
evening, violence broke out. By the early hours, rioting had spread to nearby areas. By
Sunday 7 August the riots had spread to 12 areas within London and by Monday 8
August, the riots had spread nationally and eventually 66 areas experienced rioting.
The riots across England lasted for five days in total. Five people lost their lives and
hundreds more lost their businesses and homes. There was widespread arson and
looting.” (Riots & Victims Panel, 2011).
In the West Midlands, 622 people were arrested in the first few days during and after the riots.
The age ranged between 13 and 59, the average age was 23 with 30% aged 17 or under. The
chart below represents the age spread.
Source: West Midlands Chief Constable
Table 1: Arrests by Age in West Midlands
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5. Maps of Birmingham affected areas:
Source: West Midlands Police (2012)
Table 2: Map of Riot Area in Birmingham



187 offences (36% of all offending) were recorded within this 2.5km sq area
The offending started in Birmingham City Centre at approx 17.00 on 08/08/2011 centred
around New Street and Corporation Street.
58 Burglary Other Building took place within this zone
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
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6. Published Responses to the Riots to date
In the immediate aftermath of the riots the Government appointed a “Riots, Communities and
Victims Panel” of four national worthies headed up by Darra Singh. This Panel has published two
reports to date. Their immediate response entitled 5 Days in August told us:
“The overwhelming majority of those brought before the courts so far have been male and
had a previous conviction. At least 84 people had committed 50 or more previous
offences each. Three-quarters were aged 24 or under.
We know that the rioters were not a homogenous group of people all acting for the same
reasons. They acted differently depending on why they decided to riot and what they
wanted to get out of it.
We break down those present at the riots into five broad categories:





Organised criminals, often from outside the area.
Violent aggressors who committed the most serious crimes, such as arson and
violent attacks on the police.
‘Late night shoppers’ – people who deliberately travelled to riot sites in order to
loot.
Opportunists – people who were drawn into riot areas through curiosity or a sense
of excitement and then became caught up in the moment.
Spectators – people who came just to watch the rioting.
There was no single cause of the riots and no single group was responsible” (Riots &
Victims Panel, 2011).
This last point is one that this report seeks to address. The first report set out to capture emotional
and reactive comments from the communities affected by the riots. They wanted to find out how
the word spread and reported:
“Communicating the right messages to different groups was also important – especially
given the number of spectators and individuals who made snap decisions to commit
crime. Many felt that outlining the consequences of rioting to younger adults was effective,
as were messages to parents advising them to keep children indoors.”
Use of social media
Many people we spoke to recognised the need for improving the use of social media to
rebut rumours and encourage potential rioters and spectators to stay at home. The ability
to use social media effectively was clearly identified as a major weakness for local
authorities and the police. They need to be able to use it both to gather and use
information and to communicate messages to communities, businesses and individuals.
This needs to be urgently addressed.” (Riots & Victims Panel, 2011).
This narrative captured the emotions and dialogues that followed immediately after the riots and
they were “struck by the sometimes horrifying and tragic accounts of people’s experiences of the
riots. It will take some considerable time for them to rebuild their lives ... numerous very positive
stories about the behaviour and bravery of individual [police] officers ... also heard lots of negative
comments from individuals about the police withdrawing from riot areas. Many of these people felt
they had been effectively abandoned by the police during the riots.”
They concluded the review of police tactics with the reflection that “the police withdrawal in many
areas was a deliberate tactic – in order to create a ‘sterile’ area, or because the police simply did
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
8
not feel they had sufficient officers with the right equipment to engage the large number of rioters
they faced ... our view is that the police ... must take account of this widely held perception that
they abandoned some communities.” Reflections of this nature are a second question that this
survey covers.
The Chief Constable of the West Midlands wrote a report to the Police Authorities in September
2011 reporting on the operation with some early reflections on the impact on the policing policies
and practises. It tells us that:
“From a clear sky West Midlands Police was hit by a wave of copycat disorder spreading
out from London. Our preparations on the Monday were unable to stop widespread theft
and damage in the city centre and disorder in Soho Road and Smethwick. The following
night saw this disorder, which in its early stages I characterised as driven by ‘greed not
anger’, spread from Birmingham to Wolverhampton and West Bromwich. At one stage
police officers came under concerted gunfire and in another incident, tragically, three
young men lost their lives on the Dudley Road.
Everywhere there was a strong sense of loss and shock and within the West Midlands
Police an understanding that despite our best endeavours we had been unable to offer
the community the protection that is our sworn duty.” (West Midlands Police, 2011)
Again this report reflects a strongly worded emotional response to the riots, giving us a rich
pictorial image of our neighbourhood in turmoil. The chief Constable is primarily concerned with
the force he commands and goes on to say:
“I began to appreciate the full magnificence of the policing response ... The huge
commitment shown in arresting 622 people and working with an energised criminal justice
system to bring them to justice. Stories of police officers, Special Constables, police staff
members and PCSO’s doing their bit to ensure that collectively we could do what needed
to be done and, swinging in behind this local effort ...” Giving us confidence in the force to
cope with acts of wilful criminality and that the police stood up to it well.” (West Midlands
Police, 2011)
This is not a complacent report it tries to think ahead and ...”would be arrogant to claim that we
have nothing to learn. This interim report highlights to the Police Authority some of the early key
findings we have identified.” The Key Issues the report states are:
“The process of review has highlighted ... [the] particular public interest, organisational
impact or political imperative [of]:
 Local Policing
 Intelligence
 Strategy
 Tactics
 Use of Force
 Capability
 Offending Pattern”
These rightly concentrate upon the police response to the responsibility to keep the streets safe
for everyone. Cause and effect, youth perception and engagement are not addressed but will be
picked-up by this survey. The City Council leaders also commissioned reactions gathered by
Peter Latchford in a report entitled They Moved Like Fish to “outline how the Council responded to
the immediate events, including co-operation with other agencies, and managed the business and
community recovery. [The report] assesses the Council’s readiness to deal with events such as
these, both in terms of resilience and its strategy and action to mitigate reoccurrences” (Peter
Latchford, 2011).
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
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It takes the form of collected anecdotal conversations and dialogues from a whole range of
community leaders. What it told this study was:
“Birmingham did not fail, there are lessons to be learnt ... We have not seen events like
these before. We need to think hard about the way we respond – particularly the pace and
personality of our response – to prevent the spread of this type of infection. We also need
to anticipate the fact that we are not the only people wanting to learn. People with criminal
or disruptive agendas will have seen missed opportunities this time round. And we need
to think about how we could prevent such a contagion taking place at all. We need to ask
what the riots tell us about the way we live. To think about these things, we need an
explanation of what happened. But no explanations can fully cover events which were
complex, evolving and primeval. Perhaps the best we can do is to discuss and agree an
interpretation - an interpretation of what the riots were truly about – which will then
suggest how we should act.
What happened in the city centre was a heady brew of excitement, opportunity, bravado
and immaturity, seasoned by pinches of protest, criminality, resentment, and a sense of
materialist entitlement. It was the descendant of a rave: a semi-spontaneous event – but
taking place in a city centre ... damaging shops and buildings” (Peter Latchford, 2011)
These reports paint a picture gathered from effected communities in the immediate period
following the riots. They were intuitive responses and resonate the more for that. What happened
is clear and demonstrable with the civil authorities taking reaction as they think appropriate. Some
reflection on events has taken place since. Two studies are relevant to this research one from
Professor Karl George the second the final report of the Riots, Communities and Victims Panel
entitled After the Riots This later one describes ... “Our Neighbourhood Survey found that 83 per
cent of people feel that youth unemployment is a problem within their local area, and 71 per cent
of residents feel that there are insufficient employment opportunities for young people” (Riots,
Communities and Victims Panel, 2012) they attempted to set an agenda for future action to
alleviate future threats. They recommend that:



Local areas, particularly those with high levels of youth unemployment, establish
neighbourhood ‘NEET Hubs’ to join up data and resources to tackle youth unemployment.
Government and local public services fund a ‘Youth Job Promise’ to get as many young
people as possible a job, where they have been unemployed for a year.
Government provide a job guarantee for all young people who have been out of work for
two years or more.
One issue that is of note to our study is the target for the riots – were they random business
attacked or selected. After the Riots found that they “were particularly characterised by
opportunistic looting and very much targeted at brands – 50 per cent of recorded offences in the
riots were acquisitive in nature. The Panel was told that the majority of shops targeted stocked
high value consumer products: clothes, trainers, mobile telephones and computers” (Riots,
Communities and Victims Panel, 2012). This issue is reflected in this study.
Additional agenda items are illuminated by the Riots Panel; particularly the status and position of
the Police. They identified three areas of Police relationships: Trust, Integrity and Contact.
Everyone in society wants the emergency services – the police is always top of citizens list of
uniformed officers. But why are they often criticised? The Riots Panel plead that trust “is vitally
important in any community. It leads to communities getting more involved in policing, it ensures
the police can understand local communities’ needs and it helps to break down cultural barriers.
When the public trust police motives, they are willing to support them by reporting crimes or
antisocial behaviour, by providing local intelligence and acting as witnesses” (Riots, Communities
and Victims Panel, 2012).
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
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As mentioned above the Panel used dialogue capture as its method and this highlighted the issue
of police integrity. They found that “one in three people think that the police are corrupt, and one in
five think that they are dishonest. While not suggesting this is in any way accurate, this
perception must be damaging to the police’s relationship with the communities they serve.” We
explore the same issue in our survey results below. Personal contact with the Police is the third
issue; including differentiation between BME contact and that with white people. The Panel found
that “happiness following contact with the police [for] Black and minority ethnic is significantly
worse than it is for white people: 64% compared to 77%” the Panel asked the question in their
Neighbourhood Survey that ... one in four who had recent contact with the police were unhappy at
the way they were treated. In some areas it was as high as one in three” (Riots, Communities and
Victims Panel, 2012).
Finally in this section the approach of Karl George is examined. His was an observational
approach compared with established wisdom:
“I observed, as did others, that riot participants hailed from all cultures, ages and a cross
section of society. There did not seem to be any shared values, there was no identifiable
shared issue, neither was there a shared intent. In cities across the country youths
purportedly looted Police Stations as a means of revenge for the perceived injustice they
have experienced at the hands of the constabulary. Others ‘shopped’ for basic amenities
to provide for their impoverished family. However, there were many that merely became
intertwined in the events. Of course, there were also many seemingly intent on engaging
in criminal behaviour, and satisfying selfish greed.” (Karl George, August 2011)
George draws on a theory to position the riots and therefore put ideas in place for future action:
“Rather than trying to understand the reasons why hundreds of people across the country
rioted as an isolated focus [we should] consider ‘the tipping point’. In sociology, a ‘tipping
point’ is defined as the event of a previously rare phenomenon becoming rapidly and
dramatically more common. In early August 2011, we witnessed disorder in London
spread across the country, thus aligning what we saw with such a definition.
’The Tipping Point’ (Gladwell, 2002) provides more contemporary examples. He analyses
fashion trends, smoking, children’s television and a successful high-tech company,
amongst other things to provide us with a unique understanding of human behaviour. I
have taken the liberty of interpreting his "three rules of epidemics" with my own words and
analogies to make them relevant to our recent experiences in the UK. Gladwell speaks
about the “Law of the Few”, “The stickiness Factor” and the “Power of context”.” (George,
August 2011)
George draws his own rule of three to provide an articulate insight into the riots. The Tipping
Point is also applied to this study against the findings drawn from our surveys. His three are:



Connection: "The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the
involvement of people or a medium that has the ability to spread the message
quickly.”
Message: “The specific incident that ignites activity with enough intensity to create the
glue.”
Environment: “Human behaviour is inextricably linked to the environment.”
When applied in the context of the riots George draws these conclusions:
“As the recipe and ingredients that were used to create the tipping point, a solution must
involve the same three elements that I have identified; Connection, Message and the
Environment. This starts with our Birmingham Citizens platform, social networks of ‘good’
communicating across the same social media platforms to a comparable degree to what
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
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we saw during the riots. To outweigh the negative way that the platforms were used the
new message needs to be compelling, the intensity and integrity able to motivate.
Leadership must be united and messages coherent, a campaign of civil responsibility
must be pursued, active citizens developed, and equality and access to opportunity
fulfilled. There must be hope for the future for young, and for old. Then there is the
environment and how we set the scene. This is where the big and small businesses can
play their part, working with the public sector, collaborating with the voluntary sector
stimulating employment and then helping to train those to maximise the opportunities. It is
time to invest collectively and meaningfully in inner cities with the people and communities
from all backgrounds, tackling disadvantage and supporting sustainable and long-term
programmes.” (George, August 2011)
All of these reasoned arguments are well drawn and articulated. This survey can rely heavily on
the received wisdom they contain to give an insight into areas to study. TFMP wants to find the
views of the group that time and again in the published story so far are (in the main) the culprits.
Surveying young people will provide a different voice. It could articulate the language of a
generation and of the street; enabling the community to better position itself. A hypothesis is not a
necessary prerequisite in this study, but having a benchmark or matrix framework on which to
hang the findings would be useful. “The Tipping Point” may provide that framework with its
analysis of how people move in social epidemics; both the cause and the factorisation. The
original theory informs us that “The Tipping Point is that magic moment when an idea, trend or
social behaviour crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” (Gladwell, 2002) At what
point does it become obvious that something has reached a boiling point and is about to tip?
The possibility of sudden change is at the centre of the idea of the Tipping Point -- big changes
occurring as a result of small events. If we agree that we are all, at heart, gradualists, our
expectations set by the steady passage of time, is it reassuring to think that we can predict radical
change by pinning their tipping points? Can we really ensure that the unexpected becomes the
expected?
The Three Rules of Epidemics:
The Law of the Few
The 80/20 [Pareto] Principle states that in any situation roughly 80 percent of the “work’ will be
done by 20 percent of the participants. This idea is central to the Law of the Few theory where a
tiny percentage of people do the majority of work. But say you took those 20 people who do all the
“work” away, would changes or epidemics never occur or would the next 20 people step into that
role and assume the position of “workers”?
Stickiness Factor
Stickiness means that a message makes an impact and doesn’t go in one ear and out the other.
Take a simple, every day example of this. Think about a song that you couldn’t get out of your
head or that television commercial you still remember from when you were a kid. Could you
pinpoint what it is you think makes them “sticky?”
The Power of Context
This says that human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem.
How attuned are you to your environment and its effect on you? Have you felt your mood change
because of the surroundings even if it’s as subtle as standing near a couple in a bitter argument or
being in a cluttered, messy bedroom?”
This epidemics rule could be applied in int original form to the findings of this study. Certainty
about the minority activity, was the message given out when the first rioting activity commenced
one that encouraged further and persistent rioting and was the summer of 2011 just that moment
when all the factors encourage an epidemic? This rule will be applied in the conclusions.
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
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7. Methodologies Applied
Knowledge Gathering
A cornerstone of project activity was an exchange of experience between peer young people.
These research events provided the researchers with considerable insight into the riot activity
operating within the public realm. Each event typically would receive presentation from facilitators
and an examination of the social support architecture. This enabled the research to have a
qualitative and textural feel to its work; reflected in the findings later in this report.
Methodology refers to the overall approach to the research process, from the theoretical
underpinning to the collection and analysis of the data. Due to the nature of this piece of research,
qualitative methodology has been adopted which consists of a minor literature review and action
research. Primary survey action research was conducted by TFMP and its associates. This
section restricts itself to a brief description of the methods employed and the research cohorts.
Research Design
The research design needed a mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches, as it provides a
more ‘real’ basis for analysis and interpretation. Five different quantitative design types were
available: experimental, survey, longitudinal (not appropriate to this study), case studies and
comparative. Some aspects of the study also applied an action research approach to gather both
quantitative and qualitative data. The processes that the research utilised entailed applying
triangulation to the various methods of studying the riot phenomena intrinsic to young people.
TFMP and OCBC apply a continuously reflective evaluation of actions and this project; to action
research elements and use an adaptive approach.
The TFMP Survey research comprised a comprehensive questionnaire covering the three
platforms of data utilised to capture the range and extent of agency services. The sample was not
randomly chosen (usual in probability surveying) instead non-probability cases were selected by
the TFMP team members and the partners assisting the community reach which includes the
Youth Offending Team & Futsal team.
The secondary data collected was to enhance the focus of the research topic, develop and
support it. A literature review was conducted from books, articles in journals, magazines and
newspapers, reports, conference papers, published statistics, the Internet, electronic databases
and other relevant documents. This secondary research had a singular purpose: to seek to
establish the actions as well as an early analysis and terminology applied to studying the riots.
The secondary data facilitated a comparison between the primary data collected to place the
findings within a more general context to ‘triangulate’ findings.
Our last design type embodied the logic of comparison so that we could understand the economic
and societal phenomenon of rioting better when they are compared with two or more contrasting
positions. The data was classified into meaningful categories that could be compared to establish
the nature and degree of association between them, to check for patterns and themes, and to
recognise the relationships and reach conclusive findings. The obstacle to this entire procedure
was that the setting up of the templates and the transcribing, analysing, and recording if the data
was very time-consuming. However, with trial sampling now possible – it was a one hit process.
Process
Three methods were used to collect the primary data: questionnaires, focus groups and semistructured group interviews. The benefits of these methods can be summarised as:
Questionnaires
A written questionnaire was used to gain information from some young people representing the
sector participating in the project. The questions were simple, straightforward questions that could
be easily responded to using own source knowledge or a restricted Lickert Scale of three to six
© Published and Printed by TFMP 2012
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data points. This is an attitude measurement tool used in research, where, in place of a numerical
scale for answers, answers are given on a scale ranging from complete agreement on one side to
complete disagreement on the other side, with no opinion in the middle. After the questionnaire
was completed, each item may be analysed separately or item responses may be summed to
create a score for a group of items.
The answers are all analysed below in the findings section. In most cases the answers have a
group score with additional narrative from the open ended responses.
Focus Groups
To complete the range of data gathering methods a small sample of young people participated in
a Focus Group. Using focus groups in juxtaposition with other methods ensures that the
researcher gets the right breath of discussion within a group. This can be transcribed into an
appropriate form for a researcher to come to conclusions.
There are many things to consider when using focus groups as often there is a difference in ‘what
people say and what they actually do’ as a result of this the mediator needs to look at the
discussion objectively to ensure that they are not leading the discussion. There is also the added
need for the mediator to ensure that all members of the focus group offer their opinion and that
one does not take it upon them to speak the feelings of the whole group, therefore a strong
mediator is needed. Moreover, size of a focus group also has a difference in their effectiveness,
noting that an individual has more ideas about a certain theme than a group together. The author
of this report was the mediator for this study – ensuring an experienced head did not distort the
process.
Semi-structured Interviews
In a semi-structured interview a large amount of accurate and unbiased information can be
obtained. The interviewer can concentrate on questioning and listening to the interview. Semistructured interviews were chosen for this study as they provide the opportunity to explore the
personal realities and subjective insights of young people, painting a full picture of the topic under
research. It was considered to be the most appropriate methodology to allow young women and
men to be given a ‘voice’, to present their personal accounts, perceptions, views and perspectives
of their experiences of the riots.
Civic Inquiry
A further extension of the Focus Group method was held with the Civic Leaders in Birmingham. A
cross section of elected and appointed officials was invited to participate in the group. They were
offered early findings from this research – verbally not in written text. Their role was to add to the
debate and give intuitive responses to the findings.
The Inquiry Panel consisted of:
 Shabana Mahmood MP
 Councillor Paul Tilsley
 Chief Constable Chris Sims from West Midlands Police
 Chief Fire Officer Vij Randeniya from West Midlands Fire Service
 Kirk Dawes
 Dawn Roberts from Youth Offending Service
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8. Findings
In order to get a greater insight into the August 2011 riots, ‘The Outreach’ arm of TFMP obtained
the views of young people about what happened and their reactions to it. The constituency had to
be primarily the age group responsible for the 70% of those arrested in 2011; those under 25
years old. The survey was separated into the three processes: questionnaires; focus group and
semi-structured interviews.
Questionnaires
As can be seen from the table, one hundred and fifty six people completed questionnaires with
only four over 25 years of age. The sample therefore is demonstrably representative of the target
group.
Table 3: Age Profile of those Questionnaire respondents
Did the group know about the events that took place at the time and how did the message get to
them? In this next table only eight percent reported that they had little or no knowledge of the
events at the time. A first point to mark against the ‘Tipping Point’.
Table 4: Were respondents aware of the riots
The table over the page records how they received the message and how the news reached
these young people. Given the emphasis placed upon the role of social networking media and its
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almost exclusive application by younger age groups it was interesting to see how it ranked in the
information highway.
What emerges is that number one on the list is in fact the most established medium of radio and
television. This window on the world continues to dominate mass information dissemination;
whereas social media channels connect individuals so are unlikely to play its part in an epidemic
of rioting. As can be seen almost two thirds of those filling in the questionnaire gave Radio/TV as
the first media.
Table 5: Following the Riots by which media did you follow the riots
The facts indicated that the majority of the culprits were aged under twenty five, but what was the
perceived age bands from that very group? From the table below we can understand that the
perception of the age of rioters matched the real age of offenders; in fact the table shows a higher
percentage of under twenty fives than in reality.
Table 6: What age were the rioters
We are also interested to establish how close the age group as a whole. Did the respondents
know someone who took part? If they did they may also know the possible motives behind the
activity.
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In fact over half of the participants did not know someone while in the region of twenty percent did;
further evidence of the Pareto Principle.
Table 7: Did you know people who took part
Much has been made of the motives driving the looting elements of the riots. In the review above
the answers seem unequivocal: burglary and for high value goods. Little relationship existed to
wider sociological phenomenon present today within young people lives. In contrast the surveyed
group painted as much broader picture of causes. Only a third believes that greed was to cause,
as many attribute the problems to a reaction to Government Policy. If these are the real
grievances of the generation then they should be addressed. It matters not that this group did not
themselves take part but they represent the generation. Every participant had the view that there
was a causal reason, of one sort or another, for the riots.
Table 8: Causes of the Riots
Some of these questions are geared towards creating a society image. The causal effects are
one index and the feeling of being a valued citizen is another. So they were asked to express
their attachment to the wider community.
The power of the context would drive the analysis to a disconnect between the section of the
community offending, from those who are the victims. This group of law abiding young citizens,
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by majority, do not feel part of their own community. If this is universally applied o a generation
then the young people who are taking part in unlawful activity are committing it to someone else’s
world not their own. Only fifteen percent felt in a strong way that they are part of their wider
community.
Table 9: Do you feel part of your community
If that is right the other aspects of society are also disconnected from this generation. Media
plays such an immense part in contemporary society; more than other communication media.
Elders, antecedence and simply older generations are not the influence that they were. The
received wisdom is that electronic media dominates opinion forming. So how do this group of
young people feel about the media in general? In Table 10 below the most advantages position
for the media is thirty percent are content – if the completely satisfied and the mostly are added
together.
Table 10: Is Media coverage fair to young people
This is a survey of young people self-completing the questionnaire – without “supervision”. It may
be possible that they want to appear to be antiestablishment figures rebelling against authority
before they assume the responsibility for the leadership of society. The answers are going to be
distorted. But if not then a lot of effort needs to be expended to address the gulf and to gain the
confidence of this generation. When the trust in the Police is recorded below a full picture
emerges.
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If concern is to be expressed over this lack of trust, of the established institutions, then the
perceived trust in them would also be negative. Over the page in Table 11 clearly those surveyed
believe that their views are not taken seriously. Only just over thirty percent think their views are
taken seriously. A vast majority are feeling left out in the consultation of life.
Table 11: Are young people taken seriously
When the future generation of leaders and captains of industry have a set of concerns, then
attention should be paid to address them – a lost generation may occur otherwise.
Stereotyping
Table 12: Issues facing young people
The participants were asked to give an open answer to this question – they could nominate any
issue they wished as a result this list was too long to repeat in full; only those that have significant
number (some were of course frivolous and rude. Two of the issues related to hard personal
prospects the remainder were societal and feelings based. Unemployment is no surprise with
thirty percent youth out of work at this time. Concern about a good education is also not surprising
given the issues around university admissions. But they are the most pressing and have to be
addressed if any progress on mainstreaming this generation is to take place.
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Before we look at the solutions these young people offered to prevent riots in the future, let us
look at one last opinion of others in authority – the Police. It is important to everyone’s life that we
have a police force and that it is respected by the people they are there to serve.
In this chart opinion of the police is divided roughly by thirds: Positive, Neutral and Negative. This
position also would be influenced by age distortion but shows a fairly even balance of trust in the
police force.
Table 13: What is your opinion of the police?
Did the pictures of the police in operation, during the riots, alter their view? Well clearly it did. Only
a third had an unaltered opinion with well over fifty percent a changed mind on the police; after the
riot control. The opinion could have been positive not just negative. So the survey asked them to
quantify the changed view.
Table 14: Did your opinion of police change after the riots
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Well over fifty percent (58%) had their opinion changed with a third remaining with an unaltered
view. These findings however do not triangulate the first and second questions to see which
persons had the altered view. What was asked was had it changed for the better or worse.
In Table 15 it is demonstrably a change for the worse with almost eighty percent with a negative
opinion of the police.
Table 15: Has your opinion changed
Public order is an important issue in democratic countries with an adherence to the rule of law.
Confidence in the police from this age group has to be restored for future well being. Lastly we
asked them for an emotional response to other public authorities and the answers were:
Table 16: Questions for authorities
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This is not an exhaustive list but represents the majority responses. This is an interesting list of
questions that should be answered by the other the emergency services and local government
authorities. In this way they will be able to regain public confidence in their competence to deal
with emergencies in the future.
So what would this group of young people do if they were in charge?
Table 17: What would you do?
A second part of this research study obtained evidence from young people in focus groups. A
different set of questions were posed and clearly discussed in a group situation; with their own
language and terminology used to express them.
Focus Groups
Any session was not designed to be lengthy and these did not take long. They were short on
articulation but clear in the immediate intuitive responses. Six areas of interest were discussed
with the focus group: the Economy; Motives of Rioters; Emotions triggered; what were the societal
issues in the immediate time prior to the riots; what Politics are at work and how they believe they
are perceived by others.
None thought that the state of the UK economy had any bearing on the riots; but all want the
prospect of work! The analysis of the reasons why people rioted elicited more responses with six
group answers:






Free Goods
To be part of the crowd
For bragging rights
Beat the Police
A reaction to the first incident
Being blamed without cause
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Emotional responses are crucial behavioural drivers in most social situations, regardless of age.
This group of younger people (who were not active rioters) suffered an emotional response that
would have been similar to most everyone else's: defensive anger. In their case it was defensive
because it is their peer group under the spotlight - but anger all the same; attuned also to being
blamed by association. This emotional response was felt by them all. Secondary emotions can be
categorised as: Stupidity of the rioters for what they were doing and that "Youth are always
mental" and acting without forethought. This issue is also recorded in the semi-structured
interview findings below.
Two issues that were current backdrops to the riots were named by the group, as societal causes;
the recent shooting in London and the protests held in major cities around the world. This is in
contrast to the questionnaire responses and demonstrates more awareness of contemporary
events. Youth have a conscious and societal sensitivity important to the future prosperity of
society.
This is also reflected in the political issues that concerned them at the time of the riots: university
fees, public sector cut backs and the fact that the Prime Minister was on holiday at the time it all
happened. Does this all demonstrate sensitivity to contemporary changes in political direction that
affects youngsters and their long term future?
A final discussion area for this young focus group explored the self-perception of their image in
society at large. The group expressed concern over many of the imagistic stereotypes: a young
person wearing a hood is a thug; a group equals trouble; older generations are scared because
young people are violent. This all adds up to a generation gap, but is it real or a perception?
Hooded clothes have become the norm and predominantly worn by young people. It is both a
mark of youth and a chance to hide from view and represents a paradox; resentment over
societies perception of it as a defining image and simultaneously being the mask worn by many.
Groups of people have always represented an intimidating image across the centuries and are not
restricted to youth. A gap between the generations is real and also timeless. Experience of life
normally brings with it a more circumspect behavioural pattern. Confidence in youth often
disguises a lack of experiential awareness and is probably necessary part of all communities - a
fact of life.
Semi-structured Interviews
Concluding evidence was gathered by holding a set of semi-structured interviews. The themes
were exactly the same as with the Focus Group: Six areas of interest were discussed: the
Economy; Motives of Rioters; Emotions triggered; what were the societal issues in the immediate
time prior to the riots; what Politics are at work and how they believe they are perceived by others.
Table 18: Range of Emotions
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Because the process collected individual responses a more sophisticated range of responses
emerged. The results from the emotional ranges can be displayed in chart 18 above. This is a
similar pattern to the questionnaires above. None of the emotions expressed were in any way
supportive. Well over forty percent thought that the rioters were stupid in their actions with a
further twenty five percent angry. Overall the emotions exhibited after the event by the rioter’s
peer group is not one of support or sympathy.
Table 19: Motives
It is interesting and reassuring that the perceptions of the rioter’s motives are relatively mundane.
They triangulate with the Focus Group’s answers in the main from the London catalyst through
theft and the issues of group association reported above.
Context is important in any situation and these semi-structured interviews were to do with the
riots. The shootings and public protests were obviously an influence – they gave mood and
tempo to the events. Social and economic circumstances were also cited as the backdrop to it all:
University places and job cuts and the holidaying PM was conscious issues. Although all through
the consultation process little connection to the wider economic position of the country emerged
as a contributory issue.
Finally the question of the public image of young people was discussed. It is perceived that some
images of young are viewed as anti-social: a hood = a thug; all blamed by association; a
group/gang of young people = trouble and that in general young people are violent. These can
end up as truisms with repetition becoming reality.
Young Citizens Inquiry
Between the survey work being completing and this publication there was time to hold a brief
inquiry with selected public leaders. This enabled an early reaction from them on the findings. A
mixture of Politicians, Senior Officers and other officials gave their view on the issue and the
young people’s reactions. In all cases they attempted to put their (political) spin on events. All
were keen to include the good things that they or their organisation had achieved since the riots.
These have been filtered out and we are left with a commentary that holds interest. This report is
attempting to represent the issues relating to young people and not promote any others’ interests.
Compiling the responses to the survey results present difficulties. These are those that resonate
and bring new insights into the study:
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-
-
-
-
Young people wonder what their future will be – idea that the next generation will do
better than the last not as set in stone now
Need to get away from talking only about ‘blocks’ of society, for example young people,
old people, workers etc – need connections between services so all the community is
united
Jobs have to be the priority for all officials, or else there’s the risk of long term
worklessness like in the 80’s where some people never properly got back into work
The riots were not a form of social comment – that’s an excuse to justify them after the
fact
A policing vacuum in London during the start of the riots
Undertaking outreach work on integration – pilot project for community-based budgets
Conflict needs to be part of the national curriculum – not currently taught about it in
schools
Police/community engagement has improved a lot over the years – disorder lasted 48
hours whereas in other countries, it has gone on for weeks/months
Ethnic minority recruitment and promotion within the police would help
Schools have huge role to play as they have a captive audience for 6/7 hours a day
Need to look at community sentences as we don’t want to take young people away from
their families or lose their education
Feels like the riots were an exceptional period
Police have a shared responsibility with other agencies to set out how communities work
with them – different to crime prevention – for example their work with schools is all about
helping people understand what policing is
Need to engage with social sector to utilise expertise on engagement
Didn’t do everything right during the riots but wasn’t much they could have done differently
in the circumstances
We [need] to communicate better with young people, recognise that people are
communicating differently and get ahead of the curve – want to communicate with
everyone, not just the people who choose to meet with them
There’s a danger of trashing a generation when most didn’t take part in riots – need to be
wary of materialism.
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Conclusions & Recommendations
Conclusions
From all of the intelligence that we have gathered since the beginning of the Outreach project,
The Future Melting Pot now feels that it is important to analyse what we have learned and develop
some recommendations based on that. Out of this research has come a picture of young people
as good citizens holding on to the same core values of society including the rule of law. Moving
them from being good citizens to active and included members of the community is the key.
Much analysis and discussion has taken place since August 2011 on this issue. We believe that
this is the first that is from the generation blamed for the riots. Evidence has been collected from
the main age group implicated in the riots. They have a view that is not so far from any other
section in society which is reassuring. Societal values form part of the community spirit and is
acquired with natural development; and at an early age. What they want in response to the issues
and authority needs to take notice of is their view of others and lack of trust in the establishment
bodies.
A number of themes emerged from the survey:
 There was no single cause or group responsible for the riots. They were overwhelmingly
aged under 25 but their peer group does not condone or advocate the rioting actions.
 The dissemination and spread of the news was through traditional media.
 Authorities in general and the emergency services are distrusted by the offending age
group.
 Opinion of the causes did not vary from older generations: Greed, boredom, Government
policy etc.
 The portrayal of young people is unfair and distorted.
 A number of serious issued facing a generation have to be addressed.
 They offered a number of solutions for the future.
Now that we have identified some key themes and issues to arise from our research, TFMP
proposes several recommendations that we would like to see discussed and developed as a
result of the Outreach project.
Recommendations
1. More effort to create an integrated approach to services as the agencies could do much more
in terms of working together. For example, a forum in which officials could gather regularly in order
to share best practice and address gaps in current service provision in which practical solutions
could be developed. This is something that The Future Melting Pot would be happy to facilitate in
order to provide a neutral space for the officials in which to work.
2. We believe that the issue of youth engagement is one of the most important conclusions to
come out of this Inquiry. Engagement must take the form of positive and practical programmes of
interventions. These are the offers from TFMP:


More effective promotion of the work agencies are currently doing – for example, West
Midlands Fire Service, the West Midlands Police and others could benefit from more
effective engagement of young people through means such as social media. However,
given that our survey suggested the majority of young people still access their news
through the traditional media of TV and radio, these mediums definitely cannot be ignored
and need to play an important part in any engagement strategy.
A forum to share engagement best practice, similar to the integration forum, could be
beneficial for all agencies. This research has demonstrated that it is desirable to see
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
development between agencies; in order to provide a more comprehensive, robust model
of youth engagement.
It is important that young people play a crucial role in any engagement scheme that takes
place; bringing in young people, such as those who led the Outreach project, would help
officials to gain a greater understanding of what their generation want from their services
and the best methods through which to engage them. This involvement of young people
could include but would not necessarily be limited to:
1. Advisory roles in engagement forums; work shadowing in order to allow young
people to understand how agencies currently operate;
2. Placements within agencies to allow young people to play an active role in
developing best practice within agencies;
3. Support from officials for projects such as TFMP’s youth-led workers’ cooperative.
3. The commissioning of “Conflict Education” products as well as lobbying for this to receive
greater attention in the national curriculum. This would particularly apply for those young people
who are considered to be at risk of committing crime. Also, as well as utilising schools to promote
the message of agencies, there is arguably more that could be done in using such platforms to
glean the views of young people. A programme for school engagement and listening exercises,
as well as the conflict education can be created. Once the products are created then, with
devolved budgets to schools, they can be offered to schools as specialist external input.
4. We would also recommend the role and influence of the media within social conflict be
explored. Our survey showed that young people by and large feel that they are not presented
fairly in the media, and so this is an issue that needs to be addressed. For example, encouraging
opportunities for young people to be able to shape the news agenda and have a say on stories
could help to redress the balance between positive and negative news stories.


The media – particularly TV and radio as suggested by our survey - can also be very
powerful in terms of shaping messages to and about young people; therefore these
messages need to incorporate the entire community as well as targeting specific groups.
Just as many of the officials talked of a need for a more joined-up or holistic approach to
working, a similar approach could help with young people’s representation in the media,
too.
Also, a media strategy for events such as the riots might help to get the right messages
out at the right time.
5. All of the public services, the uniformed ones in particular, would benefit from understanding
and procedurally adopting new communication methods; such as social media.
6. Good citizens are not made but emerge out of the conditioning of life. But we can help that
conditioning by working with younger generations on programmes to create those good
citizens. TFMP has been at the forefront of those new developments to facilitate a more
mainstream enterprise culture.
7. Developing relationships are one of the main ways to encourage change. Networks outside of
the normative ones: Chamber, Statutory, business and social should be encouraged. Forums
can be developed to bring together intergenerational groups to enhance cooperation.
8. Image and self-worth was a key barrier to bridging the generational/institutional gulf. Practical
programmes that inform and enhance imagistic worth can be developed to help remove this
barrier. Such programmes can be delivered to both public servants and with children and
young people.
9. Finally more research could be undertaken into the issues raised in this report.
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Notes
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References
Chief Constable West Midlands Police (2011) Interim Report following public
disorder in August 2011, West Midlands Police Authority
George, K (2011) ‘Why they Rioted’ is not the question..., www.karlgeorge.com
Gladwell, M (2002) The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big
Difference, Hachette Book Publishing India
Latchford, P (2012) They Moved Like Fish, Black Radley
Riots Communities And Victims Panel (2011) 5 Days in August, DSO
Riots Communities And Victims Panel (2012) After the riots: the final report,
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Rioting:
view from
the ground
A research and
reflective report on
Birmingham young
person’s views: of the
High Street Rioting
and Looting Summer
2011
The
Future Melting Pot
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