The Difficulty of Tackling the Deeper Roots of the UK Riots

The ongoing UK riots were sparked after rallying calls were identified online calling for protests – with mosques or hotels housing asylum seekers the preferred rallying points for many protesters.

Across the UK, rioters clashed with police.

After the protests flared following the stabbing of three girls in Southport, Sir Keir Starmer warned he has to deal with “a group of individuals who are absolutely hell-bent on violence”.

That was the reason why he decided “to pull together senior police officers” to ensure that “this is met with the most robust response, not just in the coming days but all the time”.

An effective response to rioting requires appropriate powers for the police and swift justice for offenders.

But it becomes more complicated in the longer term.

The government need to counter external forces and they must also decide how to respond to the grievances of those causing the mayhem.

An Expert in Riots

The Prime Minister has had experience dealing with unrest.

He was Director of Public Prosecutions when the so-called “London riots” broke out in August 2011.

After Mark Duggan was shot dead by police, rioting spread across London, Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester, Liverpool, Derby and Nottingham.

Approximately 3,000 people were arrested, with over 2,000 subsequently facing criminal charges and prison sentences.

The current UK riots are not on the scale of 2011.

However, if trouble increases, Sir Keir will make sure the authorities do what he did then.

He kept the courts open 24/7 to process offenders and allowed magistrates to pass longer and tougher sentences.

Sir Keir said at the time: “For me, it was the speed [of processing cases] that I think may have played some small part in bringing the situation back under control.

“I don’t think people gamble on the length of sentence, particularly. They gamble on: ‘Am I going to get caught? Am I going to get sentenced and sent to prison?’

“And if the answer is: ‘I’m now watching on the television some other people who had been caught 24 hours or 48 hours after they were on the streets with us’ – I think that’s a very powerful message.”

However, it remains to be seen how the current UK riots would sit with courts and prisons, which are much more overcrowded than in 2011.

Is Internet Crackdown the Answer?

The PM is setting up a new police unit to tackle disorder but senior officers insist that their forces have adequate legal powers to deal with the situation.

Suella Braverman slammed the police for not being tougher on the pro-Palestine marches.

According to senior officers, they have to make a judgement as to whether heavy-handed intervention while a situation is developing could make things worse.

Instead, modern technologies such as face profiling and filming can allow them to identify and prosecute offenders afterwards, in quieter circumstances.

Police also have mixed feelings about demands for an internet crackdown.

It is no secret that social media fuelled such quick mob gatherings in cities and towns across the UK.

Experts say that gatherings often develop spontaneously through “post-organisational” networks, prompted by comments about current events by individuals.

These messages often promote untrue conspiracy theories but are deliberately not incitements to riot. They can be posted by anonymous individuals or even by celebrities.

For police gathering information to counter violent protests, the internet is their most crucial source of intelligence.

Protest organisers inevitably use the internet, so law enforcement must monitor their activities.

But a total internet ban is not practical.

Bans on “hate speech” are proving ineffective, even without considering the staunch libertarian views of the tech billionaires who control the platforms.

Tackling the Root Causes

Sir Keir insisted that only “a tiny mindless minority” and “gang of thugs” willing to travel are behind the violence following the Southport stabbings.

Although this may be true, his comments avoid tackling society’s deeper issues.

The “Enough is Enough” slogan is shared by peaceful protestors and “thugs” alike.

It also resonates more widely than those present at the violence – including swing voters in places like Southport who voted Labour for the first time in 2024.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and senior government member Pat McFadden warned they must urgently answer these concerns – especially when it comes to reducing the number of small boat crossings.

Doing this while keeping Labour’s more traditional supporters onside will be much more difficult than delivering swift justice for violent protesters.

The stabbings are not the only reason behind major disturbances this summer.

In Leeds, violent unrest ensued after social workers intervened on a family.

Political leaders need to respond constructively to these motivations but not necessarily to agree with them.

Police chiefs insist that the justification for mob violence should make no difference to the way their forces deal with it.

The ongoing UK riots follow the trend of previous disturbances – they happen in the summer.

So until the weather breaks, the Prime Minister’s best hope is that people in troubled areas stay calm and off the streets..