2011 Riots

How Commentators Explained the 2011 Riots in England

Neal Hazel, from the University of Salford, made a contribution to the 2012 Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, in the category “Crime and Society,” under the title “How Commentators Explained the 2011 Riots in England”. Here is the abstract: A wave of rioting spread across cities in England during four nights in August 2011. Politicians, the press, academics and the public were quick to speculate on what factors lay behind the riots, and who was to blame. Was it “criminality, pure and simple” as the Prime Minister suggested, or did it expose social issues? This paper explores the different explanations put forward by commentators during and in the aftermath of riots. The paper reports a review of articles from printed and web news providers on the riots. The articles were analysed thematically for commentary on causes of the riots, and related to established criminological theories. The paper notes five key thematic areas: alternative economic and social explanations from both the left and right of the political spectrum, and a politically shared theme of cultural identity. In conclusion, the paper speculates how the development of these explanations during and after these riots may mirror reactions to other crimes.[rtbs name=”criminology”]

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Further Reading

• “How Commentators Explained the 2011 Riots in England”, by Neal Hazel (Proceedings)