On 4th August London police had gunshot a 29 years Mark Duggan. Following to Mark’s death riots broke out which rattled England into pieces. These riots are considered as the most horrible riots of few decades England history. It has caused £200 million damage and an irretrievable loss of heritage architecture.
On 8th and 9th August the YouGov (an UK’s renowned Research Company) Poll interviewed 2534 adult respondents to find the causes of riots. 42% respondents voted ‘Criminal Behavior’ while 26% respondents voted ‘Gang culture’ (26%) as riots’ chief cause. David Cameron the Prime Minister of UK described the scenes which were witnessed in England as “disgusting” and endorsed ‘Criminal Behavior’ as a chief cause of riots. He further said that “Photos of youth smashing shops, looting and young men robbing shoe retail shops showed that people in the British community were sick".
Young rioters: Most of the rioters who were arrested were very young! If very young ones acted as rioters then a question arises regarding their upbringing? One boy who had been arrested in Manchester said "I am not scared of my parents. When I am released from here my parents will do me nothing. They will just shout at me and they will not beat me at all".
Young rioters without a father at home: The gang members, the majority youth offenders behind bars have one thing in common: no father at home. Cristina Odone, a journalist of The Daily Telegraph said that the riots could be traced back to a lack of male role models. Prof Marian FitzGerald, visiting professor of criminology at the University of Kent says "if you have a stable family set-up then kids can be very high-achieving."
Young rioters with Social deprivation: Kids Company charity founder Camila Batmanghelidjh in The Independent Newspaper blamed the society in which the "established community is perceived to provide nothing... It's not one occasional attack on dignity, it's a repeated humiliation, being continuously dispossessed in a society rich with possession". Studies do suggest that living in areas of social deprivation could be a factor for such antisocial behavior.
Young rioters tempted to Gang identity: "Several of the rioters who were interviewed clearly enjoyed the feeling of being powerful. They were encouraged to feel that the cities in which they were misbehaving belonged to them.” This is credible, says Prof Wilson (professor of criminology at Birmingham City University) "Opportunism, mixed with a sense of being in a big gang, will have enticed many who wouldn't necessarily do something like this normally.” Carolina Bracken writes in the Irish Times "As more and more people became embroiled in the riots, others have been tempted to join them, confident that one unexceptional individual in a sea of hundreds is unlikely to be caught or to face retribution".
Young rioters, victims of Racism: Christina Patterson, a columnist of The Independent Newspaper said ‘the race factor could not be overlooked’: "Too many black men have been killed by the police. Too many black men and women have been treated like criminals when they're not. This is not the cause of these riots, but it's there in the mix."
Young rioters craze for Gangsta Rape and Culture: Paul Routledge, columnist of The Daily Mirror blamed "the pernicious culture of hatred around rap music, which glorifies violence and loathing of authority (especially the police but including parents), exalts trashy materialism and raves about drugs". It's certainly clear that gang culture is a real phenomenon, says Prof Wilson.
The above mentioned fatal findings endorse a well known fact i.e. behind every action there is a cause. Let’s join our hands to treat such harmful causes in our contexts before our peaceful life gets ruined by them.
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