London Riots - a comment

"The family of Mark Duggan has condemned the riot that broke out in Tottenham last night as eyewitness reports emerge that trouble erupted after a 16-year-old girl threw a rock at police.

Mr Duggan was shot dead by marksmen on Thursday and his fiancee, Semone Wilson, has said that she wanted answers, not trouble, while his brother, Shaun Hall, called for the community to remain calm."

Daily Mail, 8th August

The shooting of Mark Duggan had been used as the reason behind the initial riots in Tottenham, and the Metropolitan Police have described the incident as "regrettable". A full investigation is under way.

We have to accept that in today's society, incidents such as the shooting of Mark Duggan are bound to happen, as the police go about their business of trying to protect society. Provided that subsequent investigations are thorough, fair and open, and then appropriate action is taken, then we should be satisfied.

There is no excuse for what has happened since, but I notice that the police have come under attack for not responding quickly enough:

"The police were already facing criticism for allowing rioting to break out in Tottenham after what started as a peaceful protest over the death of Mark Duggan at the hands of police armed response officers, and Sunday night's events will intensify claims that the police response has been inadequate."

The Guardian, 8th August

The police simply cannot win!

During the course of a police operation, a man gets fatally wounded; the circumstances surrounding this incident will become clear in time.

Mindless, anarchic imbeciles ride on the back of the incident to create mass destruction.

The police are accused of a slow response, but had they taken an immediate and forceful approach to quell these riots, then there is every likelihood that someone would have been hurt, or even killed....in the course of police action to protect our society.

It is time for some of these do-gooding commentators to get to grips with the fact that there may be rare times when individuals do get hurt, or even killed, as a result of police activity to safeguard our communities. They also have no right subsequently to criticise the police when they adopt a less-then-bullish approach to quashing the recent disgusting actions of mindless criminals. Such action would surely have resulted in the injury of one of the "poor souls" helping themselves to bags of rice from Tesco or the entire stock from PC World. Would such unabated "police brutality" have sparked yet more protests?

The police are doing their job, in the same way that the armed forces have to do their job. It is a sad fact, today, that in the course of their activities people can get hurt or even killed.

The shooting of Mark Duggan has nothing to do with the most recent riots. If you were to ask 95% of the perpetrators if they had heard of Mark Duggan, they would look at you blankly. They are scum, intent on creating mayhem for some perverse sense of amusement. They are opportunist thieves, out to get what they can with no thought for anyone else, and who couldn't give a jot for the communities in which they live. Do-gooders will undoubtedly try to find excuses for their behaviour, blaming the government cuts, erosion of society etc etc. Don't make excuses for these people. There is NO excuse. We are a democractic society and we have ample opportunity to make our opinions known without resorting to violence and vandalism.

To my mind, it is everyone's duty to report anyone they believe was involved in these riots. Prison is not a punishment for those people who are caught and arrested. They need to be made to pay back society in a genuine way, by rebuilding the communities they have willingly destroyed.