The civil unrest of 2011 was the culmination of decades of discriminatory and violent policing (Essay Sample)

The Civil Unrest of 2011
The Name of the Class (Course)
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The Name of the School (University)
The City and State where it is located
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Introduction
The 2011 civil unrest in Britain, also known as the "London riots," was a series of protests, riots, and looting that occurred in London and other cities in England in August 2011. The unrest was sparked by the police shooting of Mark Duggan, a Black man, in North London on August 4, 2011. The shooting, and the perceived lack of accountability for the actions of the police, led to widespread anger and protests in the local community. The 2011 civil unrest saw widespread looting, vandalism, and violence, and resulted in the injury of over 1,000 people, including police officers (Surviving Society Podcast, 2022). The riots spread quickly to other parts of London and to other cities in England, including Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, and Manchester. The riots lasted for several days and resulted in significant damage to businesses and property, as well as the arrests of over 3,000 people. The 2011 civil unrest was a significant moment in British history and was seen as a manifestation of longstanding issues of racial inequality, police violence, and social and economic disadvantage. The riots sparked a national conversation about these issues and led to calls for reform and accountability.
The riots that occurred in London in 2011 caused anxiety and significant levels of discontent across all groups, in addition to causing socioeconomic suffering throughout the whole nation. The riots had a particularly devastating impact on the majority of neighbourhoods that were mostly inhabited by people of African descent. The unrest that took place throughout England on August 6, 2011, began in the neighbourhood of Tottenham Lane and quickly expanded to the rest of the country. The riots happened in the United Kingdom. After a peaceful protest on August 4, 2018, at Tottenham Lane in reaction to the lynching of Mark Duggan by police, violent clashes broke out and left many people injured. The first march was conducted in a peaceful manner from Broadwater Farm to the Tottenham police station. The rioters sought to speak with the police commissioner at the Tottenham police station. Relatives and friends of Mark Duggan, who were looking for justice and equality, were the ones who planned and led the peaceful march. Disappointment caused by the inability of a senior officer to address the crowd led to the outbreak of violence, which was precipitated by the police officers' rough treatment of a teenager who had screamed at them. After that, violent conflicts took over the streets, resulting in the destruction of homes, automobiles, and businesses, as well as looting, homicides, injuries, and acts of arson all over the place. Later, the disturbance expanded to the neighbourhoods of Peckham, Enfield, Brixton, Croydon, Battersea, Hackney, Birmingham, Chingford, East Ham, Oxford Circus, Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, and Ealing. Ealing was also affected.
Racialised and Post-Colonial Subjects
Racism and Discrimination
The deaths of Black people at the hands of the police have been a significant factor in several instances of civil unrest in the UK, including the 1981 Brixton riots, the 1985 Handsworth riots, and the 2011 London riots. These events all took place in the context of neoliberalism, a political and economic ideology that emphasizes free market capitalism and individual responsibility, and which has been associated with increased inequality and social exclusion. The 1981 Brixton riots were a series of protests and riots that occurred in Brixton, South London, in April 1981 (Jefferson, 2012). The riots were sparked by a number of issues, including police brutality and racial profiling, as well as economic and social issues such as high unemployment and poor housing. The rioting and looting that took place during the 1981 Brixton riots caused significant damage to the area and resulted in the injury of over 300 people, including police officers. The 1985 Handsworth riots were a series of protests and riots that occurred in Handsworth, a predominantly Black and Asian neighbourhood in Birmingham, England, in September 1985. The riots were sparked by a number of issues, including police brutality, racial discrimination, and economic and social disadvantage. The rioting and looting that took place during the 1985 Handsworth riots caused significant damage to the area and resulted in the injury of over 200 people, including police officers (van Dijk, 1989). Also, as defined earlier and to illustrate the notable theme, the 2011 London riots were a series of protests, riots, and looting that occurred in London and other cities in England in August 2011 (Surviving Society Podcast, 2022). The shooting, and the perceived lack of accountability for the actions of the police, led to widespread anger and protests in the local community. Evidently, the themes of discrimination, profiling, and inequality are evident in these instances.
It could be argued that the mentioned riots were a socially synthetic phenomenon that appeared within an accumulative crisis of legitimacy. The London riots were triggered by a specific incident of perceived injustice - the police shooting of Mark Duggan - but they also reflected a broader accumulation of issues related to racial inequality, social and economic disadvantage, and a sense of frustration and disillusionment among young people (Drury et al., 2019). In this case, the London riots can be seen as a way for individuals and groups to signal their dissatisfaction with the status quo and a “pushback” to demand change. The riots also served as a way for people to express their frustrations and to make their voices heard, particularly when they felt that their concerns were not being addressed through more conventional channels. The riots may have been an attempt to effectively signal the existence of other values or priorities that were not being recognized or addressed by the authorities (Drury et al., 2019). It is important to note that not all instances of (in)justice or perceived injustice lead to riots. Riots are complex phenomena that are influenced by a variety of factors, and the specific trigger or catalyst for a particular riot may vary. In the case of the London riots, it was the accumulation of issues and the perceived lack of accountability for the actions of the police that may have contributed to the crisis of legitimacy and the eruption of civil unrest.
Profiling through the Sus laws
The use of Sus laws, also known as "stop and search" laws, allowed police to stop and search individuals based on the suspicion of wrongdoing, rather than having evidence of a specific crime. This led to widespread abuse and disproportionately targeted Black and minority ethnic communities. In the 1980s, Black people were up to six times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people in some areas of London. These laws were a controversial policing practice in the UK that allowed police officers to stop and search individuals based on the suspicion of wrongdoing, rather than having evidence of a specific crime. These laws were widely criticized for being discriminatory and disproportionately affecting Black and minority ethnic communities. One of the main criticisms of the Sus laws was that they allowed for racial profiling, with Black and minority ethnic individuals being more likely to be stopped and searched than white people (Jefferson, 2012). This led to widespread anger and protests and was seen as contributing to a sense of distrust and tension between the police and marginalized communities. Sus laws were introduced in the UK in the 1970s and were gradually phased out in the 1980s and 1990s, following a series of high-profile cases of abuse and the findings of several official inquiries. They were replaced by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), which established more stringent rules for stop and search and introduced more oversight and accountability for police officers (Gilroy, 1992, pp.41–83). Both the 1981 Brixton riots and the 2011 London riots were examples of young people who have been pushed to the margins of British society and have resisted state violence and policing through protests and uprisings. In both cases, the state response has often been one of further repression and criminalization, rather than addressing the underlying issues that have led to the protests. This has only served to further alienate and marginalize these communities and has contributed to a cycle of distrust and conflict between the state and marginalized groups.
The procedures that were included in the stop and search processes that were imposed on the minority groups created anger as well as resentment. These communities were subjected to these procedures. The difficulty that the police officers had in controlling the riots as a result of their inadequate reaction to the developing crisis led to the extensive damage that was caused. As a result of the tragic event that occurred when Mark Duggan was murdered by police, the society that was impacted exhibited a range of angry emotions. Youths from other respectable neighbourhoods were incited to join the riots as a result of this development since it was an indicator that the police officers were becoming harsher and abusing their excessive authority. This was not merely an instance of police brutality but, in the majority of instances, police personnel were also harassing citizens, and others were prepared to die while being held in detention under the gaze of the police. The first ineffective reaction of the police made the situation worse and made it more difficult to deal w...