A new report suggests youth rioting is the result of wider societal issues and not just ‘bad kids’.
July 2024: Three dead; one charged. September 2024: three dead; 84 charged.
“A scene of simple childhood innocence destroyed by terrifying violence.”
Last July the country was rocked by the murders of three young girls; aged 6,7 and 9. Bebe King, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Elsie Dot Stancombe were stabbed to death in the middle of a summer dance class by Axel Rudakubana, 17.
Therefore, July 2024 saw three children murdered and one child arrested. By September 4th 2024, 147 children had been arrested. Why?
Amidst the grief and the outrage, amidst the fear and the shock following the Southport murders, riots broke out across the country. Hundreds of children amongst their adult peers arming throws and voicing the shouts of anger and protest.
Their motivation may seem obvious. It certainly did to the media, with the papers dubbing it as racist, anti-immigrant hate: typical actions of the “far right thugs” that rampaged the streets. But when the children’s voices are actually listened to, it is clear that there is no universality in those statements.
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel De Souza spoke to some of the children who were involved in the riots, and her findings massively debunked the assumptions of the media. The majority of the children stated that they joined the protest (which many originally thought to be peaceful) and found themselves in the centre of the unrest due to either spontaneity, thrill seeking, or aggravation towards the police.
So, in the wake of homicide and grief, the spirit of protest travelled upcoast and we saw riots from Plymouth to Sunderland. The Commissioner’s report gave several reasons as to why there were children involved, the motivations of the adults being a different question entirely. Yet do we really know why?
Ultimately, the recent report suggests that those whose motivation extended beyond the desire to engage in careless thrill-seeking were largely fuelled by hatred of the police. The riots were an opportunity for retaliation – “There’s a tradition in [my city] of people vs police. We had an opportunity.”. The question thus arises, how is it that at 14, at 15, at 16 or 17, these children’s relationships with the police have been damaged so far that they will put themselves in harm’s way for the mere purposes of petty vengeance? What does this reveal about our youth? About the police?
It is my belief that the issue does not lie with the police force, nor with the children, nor with the children’s parents or guardians. The issue is much larger than these communities and these individuals.
One child who had been charged in the riots, when asked about their involvement, said: “The media said ‘far-right thugs’ – that was a bit extreme. Half the young men there don’t even know what far-right means. We’re in such a deprived area… they don’t even know what politics means. They were just there to have fun.”
Is it not then obvious that the ground was already fertile for this kind of disorder to take place?
The issue is not badly behaved children, or inadequate police or violent communities. It is deprivation.
The report made it clear that the lives of many of these children had not been one of stability or prosperity. They did not trust the police; they hated the police because the majority of them had bad interactions with the police in the past. To understand the issue, the cause of the upsurge of child rioters, we need to delve into why so many had faced police discipline before the age of 18. This is not a circumstance universal to all children living in the UK, so what makes the difference?
There is no simple answer, but it seems that Dame Rachel De Souza is pointing the right way. Her report calls into question the greater purpose of the youth justice system, the need for rehabilitation alongside appropriate punishment. She highlights the need to improve the lives of children in England; to address poverty and provide more opportunities: more youth activities and employment, less room to become vulnerable to exploitation and crime. All that is revealed about our youth by this recent report, is that they deserve better. More needs to be done to tackle childhood deprivation and the absence of opportunity.
I end with emphasis on one point, as said by the Commissioner herself, Dame Rachel De Souza: