1. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 1
The London Riots Of 2011: Who‟s Fault Is It Really?
Kristi King
Texas Wesleyan University
Content analysis London riots
Methods

2. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 2
Abstract
The London riots of 2011 raised many questions as to why cities‟ inhabitants chose to
wreak havoc on fellow community members, and the structures occupied with in the areas. An
analysis of articles written in the New York Times attempts to discover the truths to those
questions. Many factors played part in the developing answers. Socio-economic factors, moral
character, political scandal, and familial aspect all have a role in the developing answers. This
analysis is truly telling of many political movements today, and through sheer visualization, new
questions are raised and eyes are wide open to aspects of the worlds reality that only the future
has answers.

3. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 3
Introduction
A peaceful protest carried out by the family of twenty-nine-year-old Mark Duggan, a
father of four, led to riots that spread from Tottenham to other parts of the capital of England
including Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, Manchester and Brixton. A police officer from
the Trident unit of the Metropolitan police force shot and killed Dugganoutside his taxicab on
August 6, 2011. Initial reports indicated that Mr. Duggan fired at the police first. Riots
allegedly were a direct result of the death of Mark Duggan, but media has reported that
Tottenham residents claimed aphysical argument between a police officer and a sixteen-year-old
female attending the peaceful protest initiated the riots. Masked rioters with hooded sweatshirts
robbed stores for electronics and sporting goods. Perpetrators also set fire to cars, damaged
buildings, and murdered members of their communities. David Cameron, the Prime Minister of
England, was not only disappointed in the immoral and irresponsible acts of young residents,
buthe also showed displeasure for the Metropolitan police department‟s initial response to the
riots.
Upon review of variousworks, several new definitionsproducedenhanced
understandingswith regard toreasonsthose responsibleinitiated the riots. Many of the reports
further elaborated on police misconducts, as compared to the present. The Guardian raised
suspicions as to whether Mark Duggan was initially carrying a weapon. Articles reported that
the gun was on the opposite side of the fence approximatelyten to fourteen feet away from
Duggan‟s body (Dodd 2011). A reporter from Sky News alleged that neighbors informed him “a
police surveillance vehicle had been filming the road for several days before the shooting. They
claim to have seen armed plain clothes police hiding in bushes nearby, and say the taxi that Mark
Duggan was a passenger in, was taken away from the scene before being brought back for more

4. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 4
tests” (Perfect Storm/ The England Riots 2011). At the time of the mayhem, residents posted
feeds on twitter stating that journalists offered to pay them to start riots (Pudney 2011), which
very well could have been police provocateurs,like those exposed during a peaceful protest in
Montebello, Québec.
Other sources “emphasized the links between the riots and recent elite scandals”, which
led to a mistrust of police and politicians (Birch and Allen 2011). Part of the mistrust directed at
politicians comes from Britain‟s welfare system, which studies notedare similar to those of the
Roman Empire who “implemented a „high tax, high welfare‟ system to levy tax from the rich
and subsidize the poor. The Lex Sempronia marked the inception of an „effective public welfare
system‟ in Rome” (Qin 2005). Many today attribute the fall of the Roman Empire on the vast
amount of welfare the ancient city distributed (Qin 2005). The far most telling literature was
written by Caleb Stroup and University Ben Zissimos (2011) where they in detail, describe how
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) austerity programs for decades have been at the center of
many riots. The piece goes on to say, “For the peasants in developing countries who toil to pay
off their countries‟ IMF debts or the businessmen who suffer from higher value added taxes upon
the insistence of the IMF, the current system run by the IMF is one of taxation without
representation. Left with no alternatives, no way to express their concern, to press for change,
people riot”.
To understand the reasons why the riots occurred a content analysis of New York Times
articles was implemented. The analysis set out to answer what caused the riots. There are a
vast number of reasons for the riots, but this analysis focused primarily on a government
dependent society whose lack of parenting produced immoral individuals who substituted
education and employment for welfare assistances. There is also significant focus on local

5. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 5
and/or state government‟sparticipation in the movement.
Methodology
Data collection started with a systematic search for articles from the New York Times
reporting on “London Riots 2011”. While initial results did not fair well, later searches showed
more success. Collectively there were 81 articles (60.5%), which were somewhat significant in
relation to the hypothesis. 32 articles (39.5%) had no meaningful relation at all. Next,
independent variables of the variable, cause of the London Riots of 2011, were derived based on
the hypothesis. Subsequentindependent variables consisted of synonyms from the
originalindependent variables. Using a summative search method, a comprehensive word count
was created of the independent variables. Systematically, each word was inspected to see if it
related to the hypothesis. Words that were relatedto the hypothesis were color coated, and the
sentences which contained the words,were highlighted the same colorsas in relation to the
independent variables. Following this process came extensive reading over all 81 articles to
assess whether the initial results faired true. Though much of the initial process did coincide,
there was still a significantamount of information missed. As such, further evidencewas
madeapparent. All 81articles were then analyzed again, howevernew findings, which were
missed in the summative search, were highlighted. In the end, the totality of the new information
generated 100% usage of all 81 articles. The words that frequented the articles most and gave a
significant return were; police with 524 recurrences, along with government, which had 191.
Both showed far more significance than the initial independent variables. Therefore, though the
hypothesis did not fail, it is worth extending the findings to include the independent variables,
police, and government. Note: Tables and Graphs after the appendix provide a detailed
understanding of initial word searches, which were done primarily for efficiency due to the vast

6. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 6
amounts of reading required for the sole researcher.
Results
This sectionwill present evidence from the New York Times, which supportedthe hypothesis that
challenged the answer to thecause of the 2011 London Riots. Several finings supported the
hypothesis that riots resulted from a lack of parenting established through government
suppression, which in turn created an immoral society who substituted education and
employment for welfare subsidies. Though there were many, one article stood apart from the
others. The article contained transcripts from an interview with nineteen-year-old, Louis James.
James stated he had never held a job in his entire life. He only recently learned to read, and he
does not possess any of the defining characteristics or skills that employers often require. He
makes $250 a month sitting at home watching television. His mother can barely support him or
his siblings. He ,like so many troubled youths, has no father, as his died of a drug overdose. He
claims he only wants a chance, but does not seem to correlate that sitting on the couch all day
watching television probably will not increase his opportunities for employment. The high
school drop out was wise enough to cognize that the government only gives him just enough
money each month to survive. He utters, “This is what they want” (L. Thomas Jr. and R.
Somaiya, 2011). When James says "they”, he is obviously referring to the government. It really
makes no sense, but Mr. James is in fact correct in his reflection. That is what the government
wants from him, and so many others like him. The question is; of what benefit is it to the
government to have a nineteen-year-old man with his entire life in front of him, waste his days
zoning out on the television?
The relationship between the welfare classes and government are far from edifying. Apparently,
government is an enabler. Circumstances will never change for Mr. James or others

7. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 7
comparableto him unless he possesses either 1.) the desire or 2.) the incentive to change those
circumstances. Unfortunately, some have to hit "rock bottom" to make it to the top. The
statement is a harsh reality, but it is in fact a true one. It only makes sense thatwhen austerity
programs are cut, those who have depended on the benefits their entire lives, will rebel.
David Cameron, Prime Minister of England did not hold back in his negative but truthful
comments regarding the morality of rioters. He stated, “those who looted and committed arson
showed a lack of “proper morals” and a failure of parenting. There are pockets of our society
that are not just broken but, frankly, sick. When we see children as young as twelve and thirteen
looting and laughing, when we see the disgusting sight of an injured young man with people
pretending to help him while they are robbing him, it is clear there are things that are badly
wrong in our society” (J. Burns and R. Somaiya, 2011). The irony of Mr. Cameron's comments
were reflected in early reports, which stated that nearly three thousandrioters were successfully
apprehended, and three quarters and then a repeat offenders. Mr. Cameron also wanted to hire
William Bratton as head of Scotland Yard. Bratton, is a leading figure in urban crime-fighting
tactics. He is an advocate of so-called community policing, an approach grounded in the idea of
flooding streets with officers who are immersed in people‟s daily lives rather than using them
simply to react or respond to specific events. Bratton led several police agencies that faced
issues of corruption or excessive use of force (M. Yam, 2011). How the Prime Minister expects
these troubled youths to change is far from apparent. Surrounding them and with big brother
type police, demoralizing them in the news, and incarcerating them repeatedly, will only produce
the same thing. The only difference is it will get worse.
Discussion
Results of this study revealed that, yes, failure in parenting is one reason why the riots

8. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 8
started, but the bigger picture suggests much more. Moralsalone do not cause riots.The
government is the only independent variable of all the others, that could truly be a lone factor in
creating them, and even more specific, the IMF may be the direct cause. Whether it is direct or
indirect, it is quite clear from the literature review, and the content analysis, that the answer to
the question what cause the London Riots of 2011 is the government. The pieces of information
collected for the most part, related strictly to one key factor thatinitiated the riots, and this was
the killingof Mark Duggan. The circumstances surrounding the shooting of Mark Duggan were
suspicious from the beginning. One thing is certainright now. Only the Metropolitan Police
Department, and God know the truth of the incident. The hypothesis was merely a well-
orchestrated factor that exasperated the riots. Poor parenting or lack of value systems didnot
create the riots, but instead the actions by the government in regards to welfare directly caused
the uprising.
The major limitation to this research was working with New York Times articles. The
New York Times does not report on the same issues as other world newspapers do. Much of the
articles solely reported on matter-a-fact occurrences. The articles did have plenty of information
to support the hypothesis, they just did not seen to have any true sustenance. Only with small
pieces of information obtained through different sources, and with the extensive and repeated
readings of The New York Times articles, was a more preciseconclusion drawn. In
2001,Gregory Palast, a reporter for the Observer published an article called IMF's Four Steps to
Damnation. In that article, Joseph Stieglitz, the ex-chief economist of the World Bank,
explained some of the IMF‟s confidential documents obtained by Palast through one of his
sources. In those documents Step-Three-and-a-Half: what Stieglitz calls 'the IMF riot'.The IMF
riot is painfully predictable. When a nation is, 'down andOut, [the IMF] squeezes the last drop of

9. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 9
blood out of them. They turnUp the heat until, finally, the whole cauldron blows up,' - as
whenThe IMF eliminated food and fuel subsidies for the poor in Indonesia in 1998. Indonesia
exploded into riots” (G. Palast, 2001). Reports such as this, make it hard to envision any other
reason for the vast number of riots that have ensued over the past two years. A chart has been
constructed which shows riots that have emerged, all over the world since 44B.C. to 2011. Riots
are categorized by the decade. From 44 B.C. to the 1950's, the greatest number of riotsover a
ten-yearperiod was during the 1910‟s. For the forty years following, the numbers sky rocketed
falling in between fifty-one to seventy-nine riots per decade, but that does not even come close to
the millennium era. Over a ten-year period, an astonishing 203 riots were reported. The IMF
letter was leaked this decade to Gregory Palast. All fall very short of the reality,that has invaded
our currentdecade, which has not even seen a full year. Already, in 2011, the globe has
demonstrated ninety-nine riots. That is a 385% increase in riots for the first year of this decade,
and this year is not even over. Blame cannot solely fall on the shoulders of parents on welfare.
There is something…truly something going on much deeper. Only time will tell.

10. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 10
Graph 4

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References
New questions raised over Duggan shooting Vikram DoddThe Guardian, Friday 18 November
2011
(Perfect Storm/ The England Riots 2011).
(Social Unrest in the Wake of IMF Structural Adjustment Programs Caleb Stroup Vanderbilt
University Ben Zissimos2 University of Bath First draft: May 24th, 2011 This draft:
September 30th, 2011http://people.bath.ac.uk/bcz20/papers/StroupZissimos11b.pdf)
Qin, H. (2005). Power, Responsibility, and Constitutional Politics. Chinese Economy, 38(6),
36-82.
. (The Global Awakening Journalists Offered Several Young People Money To Riot August 10,
2011 By Antony Pudney
http://theglobalawakening.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/jounalists-have-offered-money-to-
young-people-to-riot/).
”. (Troubled, Unemployed Youths in Britain by Landon Thomas Jr. and Ravi Somaiya
published: August 9, 2011).
.” (Single Mothers Become Scapegoats in Britain by Katrin Bennhold Published: September 27,
2011)
”, (Is London Burning? By Clay Risen)
. (Troubled, Unemployed Youths in Britain by Landon Thomas Jr. and Ravi Somaiya published:
August 9, 2011)
(Britain Debates Riots and Fears They Set a Pattern
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/world/europe/11britain.html?Scp=13&sq=london+r

16. THE LONDON RIOTS OF 2011: WHO‟S FAULT IS IT REALLY? 16
iot&st=nytdarren Staples/Reuters Police forensics officers inspected the scene where
three men were killed by a car in Birmingham, England, on Wednesday. By John F.
Burns and Ravi Somaiya
Published: August 10, 2011) “
(Http://Www.Nytimes.Com/2011/08/11/World/Europe/11britain.Html?Scp=13&Sq=London+Ri
ot&St=Nyt Darren Staples/Reuters Police Forensics Officers Inspected The Scene Where
Three Men Were Killed By A Car In Birmingham, England, On Wednesday. By John F.
Burns and Ravi Somaiya Published: August 10, 2011)
(Britain Turns to Former New York and Los Angeles Police Official for Help
Marcus Yam for The New York Times)
. (IMF'S FOUR STEPS TO DAMNATION IMF'S FOUR STEPS TO DAMNATION How crises,
failures, and suffering finally drove a Presidential adviser to the wrong side of the
barricades Gregory Palast Sunday April 29, 2001 The Observer

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