Rioting in the UK and France: A Comparative Analysis

Citation

Peterka‐Benton, D. (2012), "Rioting in the UK and France: A Comparative Analysis", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 35 No. 4, pp. 863-864. https://doi.org/10.1108/13639511211275850

Rioting in the UK and France: A Comparative Analysis came together as a result of contributions made at three workshops on comparative analysis of recent French and British riots. The riots took place between February and October 2007, with analysis coming from a core group of eight French and eight British academics, as well as relevant practitioners and overseas researchers. All together 20 authors contributed to this book, who come from many different backgrounds, providing a great diversity of viewpoints, which certainly offered strength for this particular publication.

The text is organized into five parts of which the first one sets the stage by providing a historic overview of riots in the UK during the 1980s and 1990's, and French riots from 1981 to 2004. Different explanations are given by academics, government officials and the media as to why such intense conflicts between rioters and police forces happen. Some of the key theoretical themes pertaining to both geographical areas are situational and social factors such as social segregation, deprivation and disadvantage unemployment, political powerlessness and marginalization, cultural difference and a lack of sustained community policing efforts. Specifically the insistence on a militarized form of policing, as it was demanded by the conservative French party led by Chirac, led to a situation in which the police became a symbol for a hostile society in the eyes of youth, who now fought them as their sole enemy.

Part two focusses on qualitative and quantitative analyses of more recent riots in the UK from 2001 to 2005, starting with the riots in Oldham and Burnley in 2001. As with most other riots, these can be placed within a broader set of societal concerns; however, it is often the media that feeds a conflict by biased reporting, as it was the case both in Oldham and Burnley. The role information flows (media, cell phones, surveillance) play in today's world and their impact regarding rioting situations remains an intriguing area of exploration demanding further research. Another point of interest mentioned in this part is how police should respond to conflicts in an environment characterized by a plurality of social and cultural identities. The police tend to view themselves as a professional force serving a whole community but multicultural societies where inequalities and racialized social geographies align (as e.g. in Bradford) may turn into several local communities which cannot be policed through one singular policing strategy. Another issue at stake is that the majority of law enforcement in those areas tends to be primarily white, which sparks further controversy in racially diverse communities. Conflicts within a multicultural community may also be overcome by the creation of community cohesion, which does not deny or oppose ethnic difference, but accepts difference and fosters youth activities that enable relationship building and prejudice/fear reduction.

Part three introduces the reader to French riots between 2001 and 2008, starting off with a quantitative study on demographic, housing, employment and segregation patterns of towns involved in riots, identifying sensitive urban zones (public housing estates) as the point of origin for riots, which are characterized as areas with high unemployment and delinquency rates, especially among the high number of inhabitants younger than 20. Special focus is given to the riots of 2005, which highlighted a host of political problems within French society and called for equality, justice, recognition and respect, without necessarily forming a more conventional mode of action after the riots to promote long‐term political and social change. This circumstance will leave room for future waves of riots when a younger generation and/or new French migrants respond to unresolved local political and social issues. The last three chapters of Part three deal with politicization of youth, specifically youth gangs, participating in riots, and how the politicization of the police system may have contributed to the tension and disorder leading up to actual riots, concluding with an analysis of the 2007 presidential election regarding electoral behaviors in sensitive urban zones.

Part four tries to widen the scope of the book by providing information on the 2001 Cincinnati riot as well as the subsequent peacemaking initiative through cooperation and joint decision making between the Cincinnati Police Department and its civilian constituency. In a second international comparison, questions are raised as to why Germany has not experienced riots even though a large immigrant population resides within the country. Research was unable to find the same high levels of deteriorating relationships between migrant youths and police as what found in France and Great Britain.

The last chapter, written by the editors of the book, provides comprehensive conclusions based on the research presented by the authors, reminding the reader once again about the relevance of multiculturalism, police‐community relations and racialized or “turf” territorial boundaries regarding possible riot behavior.

Overall, the book offers a valuable analysis and comparison of rioting in France and Britain. While the overall amount of information available is quite impressive, it would have been useful to present the comparisons in a more direct manner (also including the Cincinnati riot). This aside, this text can be beneficial for students, (who are rarely exposed to this type of criminal behavior in traditional class content) academics, and practitioners such as police or politicians.