The last day before my holiday, I read an article about a shooting in Tottenham and it seemed a classic case of the Met protesting too much.
A few days later I was recieving texts including words such as 'riots', 'wildfire' and 'anarchy'. So I feel, on returning, to have missed the whole event, just now witnessing the criminal justice 'mop up'.
I heard a spat between Gove and Harman where she spoke in general terms and he seized on the particular to justify extra-ordinary draconian measures. It all seemed very reminiscent of the shock of Brixton '81 but then there was a more experienced Home Sec in Willie Whitelaw who would have shuddered at the tought of pinching the credit of restoring order from the police. Equally, he would have considered imposing curfews as a huge failure of his office (http://tinyurl.com/4xelcvb)
Now we also see the strong reactionary elements of the judiciary being unleashed - long considered guidelines being abandoned in a thoroughly emotional response by the beaks.
Look no further than the Facebook trial in Chester. It is still a mystery to me how a full trial can be heard at Crown Court, less than a week since the original charge, and resulting in a four year sentence.
The level of punishment of writing incendiary posts on Facebook, for a riot which didn't happen, is just bizarre particularly as the (idiot) defendants pleaded guilty and had no previous convictions. In their Youth Offender Institution, they will be mixing with some serious criminals many with violent histories. And shorter sentences.
In 1981, there were similar calls for 'hard labour' and 'bringing back the birch' but were thankfully resisted by wiser heads. The Scarman Report, which followed, exposed huge tensions between police and community and showed the long-term effects of neglecting the people of the inner city. And people they are.
There appears little appetite for speaking of civil liberties but this is hardly the first time a stupid but inconsequential remark on social media has led to a wildly disproportionate response from police and courts. There was a time when we would gasp at these kinds of court decisions in China or Burma or even Singapore. The difference is they've got a paranoid, over powerful police force. Isn't it?
