Brixton erupts into violence as police and black youngsters fight pitched battles

Policemen dragging away an Asian youth: A breakdown of relationsIt was a very ordinary Friday in April 1981 when the London suburb of Brixton suddenly erupted into violence as police and black youngsters fought pitched battles after a minor incident involving an injured black youth. For three days, Britain held its breath and watched as petrol bombs lit up previously quiet roads, a pub was gutted and shops looted in a mad orgy of violence.Eight months now after the streets were cleared and the physical and emotional wounds have partially healed. Judge Lord Scarman, a veteran of earlier enquiries into social disorders, has presented a Government-initiated report on the Brixton riots. The basic finding of the report is that riots were a result of the breakdown of relationship between the police and the black communities. The report says: "A major cause of the hostility of young blacks towards the police was loss of confidence by significant sections of the public in the police." Among the reasons cited for this lapse were: "hard" policing methods, racially prejudiced conduct by some police officers and lack of consultation about police operations. The report also felt that there was tremendous distrust among ethnic minority groups of the procedure for investigating complaints against the police. The disorders, although communal and arising from "a complex political, social and economic situation", were not a race riot. But, says Scarman, they were "essentially an outburst of anger and resentment by young black people against the police".Insecurity: Lord Scarman who spent some time in Brixton talking to black people both old and young recognised that "some young blacks are driven by their despair into feeling that they are rejected by the society of which they rightly believe they are members". In addition, he goes on to say, "They are politically insecure, and their sense of insecurity is not relieved by the liberty our law provides to those who march and demonstrate in favour of tougher immigration controls and repatriation of blacks."The report goes on to recommend a coordinated operation to relieve inner city problems in liaison with local community groups. It stresses three particular areas of need in the inner cities: housing, education and employment. Unemployment, the report points out, is worse among black people than white and, in a controversial paragraph, it recommends that "a policy of direct coordinated attack on racial disadvantage inevitably means that the ethnic minorities will enjoy for a time a positive discrimination in their favour". The report says that "positive discrimination, especially in the fields of education and employment, is essential to eliminate the unsettling factor of racial disadvantage from the social fabric of the United Kingdom". Unfortunately the idea of "positive discrimination", which Lord Scarman does not elaborate, suggests to most British people "quotas" and "blacks only" advertisements which are not welcome. The Confederation of British Industry has already said that they have serious doubts about "positive reservations in recruitment, precisely because it is discriminatory. In our view it is harmful to harmonious working relationships and we do not believe it will, genuinely help the employment prospects of black people."Cautious Response: The recommendations on better policing have been received cautiously by the police. Scarman recommends that efforts should be made to deter racially prejudiced people from entering the police service; that a vigorous effort should be made to recruit more members of the ethnic minorities into the force, and that an independent element should be introduced in the investigation of complaints against the police.The report has had a subdued reception in the media circles. "Commendably judicious" wrote The Times of London, "but it has not come up with instructions on how to prevent riots." The Guardian laments its "failure to grasp various crucial nettles." an opinion echoed by the editor of the magazine Race Today, Darcus Howe, who wrote in an article: "The Scarman report is way off beam in all matters that are essential and crucial." Howe says that Scarman has failed to make recommendations which should reflect the range and depth of the youth "revolt".Usha Prashar, director of the Runnymede Trust, an independent educational body which aims, among other things, to provide public education about race relations and immigration, is equally unhappy about the report. Says Prashar: "I believe people expected a more constructive document. Lord Scarman won the confidence of many black people in his visits to Brixton, he had evidence of excellent quality for his talks and yet he hasn't managed to grasp the essentials." Prashar quotes Lord Scarman's initial argument that "if an institutionally racist society means that it is a society which knowingly, as a matter of policy, discriminates against black people, then I reject the allegation (that Britain is racist)." This, she says, does not hold water. Says Prashar, "Britain knowingly, as a matter of policy, discriminates against black people in immigration and the recent nationality legislation gives legal expression to racism."Vulnerable: A recent Home Office enquiry into escalating racial attacks on Asians shows that the Scarman recommendations on improved policing methods will have some impact on improving relations between Asians and the police which have been slowly deteriorating. The report found that Asians are 50 times more likely to be attacked than white people.Both the Home Office enquiry on racial attacks and Scarman acknowledge that it is important that liaison between the police and the ethnic communities be improved. Both reports also deplore the unwelcome presence of extremist organisations in racially sensitive areas with a high immigrant population.The question that many now ask is, given the Scarman report, does the Government have the will to act on it with immediate effect? The police agree that reform is necessary, the Government agrees that funds are necessary to improve the quality of life in Britain's depressed cities, but a gloomy Asian researcher into race relations in Britain forecasts: "I do not believe there will be any reaction from the Government or the police unless there is another upheaval. What we need immediately is the spending of more money to provide resources and that the Government is most reluctant to do."Says Prashar: "I would like to see urgent action in tackling racial disadvantage. That "and the recommendations regarding the police are of great importance." And if that is not implemented with immediate effect Caribbean journalist Howe predicts that "those forms which appeared in embryo on the streets of Britain's cities must necessarily develop into full-blown manifestations in the not too distant future."Published By: AtMigration Published On: Oct 22, 2013 15:41 IST--- ENDS ---

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Brixton erupts into violence as police and black youngsters fight pitched battles

It was a very ordinary Friday in April 1981 when the London suburb of Brixton suddenly erupted into violence as police and black youngsters fought pitched battles after a minor incident involving an injured black youth.

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