There has to be a serious inquiry into the recent riots and their causes if we are to avoid a repeat of last week's tragedy or even worse
'Kneejerk' public policy responses to most issues tend to have unintended consequences and end in failure. All too often they are based on a lack of evidence or any comprehensive analysis of their potential implications. They are invariably a result of some emotional spasm. And usually they are intellectually hollow attempts to appease a populist mood. They should be avoided.
Never was the case for avoiding 'kneejerk' policy change more apposite than in the immediate aftermath of the riots of last week. What is needed is a calm considered inquiry into the underlying causes of and contributory factors behind these appalling and unacceptable events.
There will be many lessons that must be learnt. There needs to be some very deep and critical analysis of the underlying complex issues. If we do not understand the causes and the motivations of those who participated in the criminal and anti-social behaviour - and ask 'was it simply opportunistic criminality' and/or was there something deeper - there is very little chance of finding long term sustainable solutions. This will not be an easy exercise and certainly not one that leads to immediate answers. Anyone, who thinks that there are easy or quick solutions, fails to understand the complexity and depth of what must surely be a range of social, economic and moral problems. This is not the time for simplistic reasons or actions.
I certainly don’t and won’t pretend that I understand why these riots took place in the particular form that they did, or even less what needs to be done. I want to understand, as I am sure most people do. I want an inquiry that will help all of us to understand.
To understand is not to condone or to excuse what was blatantly wrong. Criminal violence is not acceptable and has to be dealt with through the criminal justice system, not the housing or social security systems. Unlawful behaviour on the streets has to be met with effective policing. The criminal justice system and the police have important roles to play but inevitably their actions alone will not be enough to prevent future unrest.
Inequality in this country is growing and the gaps between the richest and the poorest cohorts are ever widening. The impact of cuts to key public services could further exacerbate this divide as the value of the 'social wage' to families and individuals declines. A lack of jobs and employment prospects offers little hope to many households, especially where there is inter-generational unemployment. Were these contributing factors? We need to know.
The government may be well-advised to reconsider the implications of some of its policies before they potentially cause more damage to the social and economic condition of the country. I am thinking of policies such as the abolition of Education Maintenance Allowances; the proposed changes to housing benefits; the council tax benefit changes; local government finance decisions which all too often disproportionately impact on places with the highest social and economic challenges; and reductions to the number of police officers.
There would be sense in undertaking some social and economic impact assessment before proceeding to implement such changes. At a local level this would be best undertaken collaboratively by public agencies, so as to identify the implications of one decision by one agency on another - and also the potential consequences of the cumulative effect of decisions by several agencies on particular communities and/or groups of individuals.
Complex social, environmental and economic challenges inevitably have to be tackled through collaboration and partnership between several agencies; and often between the citizen and service agencies. This collaboration is about more than the public sector working more effectively together. It is also about the public sector forging outcome based partnerships with the local community and voluntary sector, and with the private sector. We also have to forge purposeful collaboration between citizens, communities and the agencies serving them.
These processes - as with all place shaping and community planning - must involve local people. Consultation and engagement are vital. We have to understand what all people are feeling, thinking, needing and wanting. People have to be part of identifying and implementing the means of addressing their needs and ambitions. This is neither the time to impose top down approaches nor a time to ignore any section of society including those who are or feel themselves to be the most marginalised and disaffected. Such an approach will be challenging but should not be avoided. Public agencies should consider how they can join together to engage communities and individuals; and how they can work with community groups on this important task.
There is a need for investment in sustainable community capacity and this means working with community and voluntary groups rather than cutting their grants and funding as is currently the case in many places. The community and voluntary sectorand other community groups will need to be able to access resources to ensure that they can build their resilience and strength to create social capital in local communities; and so that they can offer the services and advice those communities need. They must be able to offer a voice to promote the communities they represent to local and national agencies.
The government currently is committed to a 'smaller state' with less public expenditure. In the aftermath of the riots and street crimes has not the time come to debate role and behaviour of the state rather than its size?
I contend that the role of the state goes beyond securing public protection for citizens from internal and external threats. The state has a major role to ensure fairness, equity and equality of opportunity for every citizen and community. This requires the state to intervene actively in the economy and in markets to ensure fairness and economic growth. It has to regulate defined activities in order to offer protection and pursue opportunity. Above all, in the pursuit of fairness and equity the state has to use public expenditure and progressive taxation to redistribute resources between communities and between individuals. There is a need to secure good effective and responsive public services to meet need and to address social imbalances. And jobs and training are important too.
Government at local and national level has to ensure that all people feel valued – including the victims of the criminal activities of the last week.
Local government has a major role to play at the local level. This will be a real test for local government’s community leadership and local collaboration - in the short term addressing the human misery and needs arising from the riots – and in the longer term on working with communities to build resilience and create sustainable wellbeing.
However, both central and local government should consider very carefully the potential implications of planned actions before they enact them. Above all there has to be a serious inquiry into the recent riots and their causes if we are to avoid a repeat of the tragedy or even worse.
