Riots challenge UK’s centuries-old policing code

The UK is proud of its long history of “policing by consent” but recent bouts of violence, in which far-right rioters went toe-to-toe with officers, have renewed debate about whether forces should adopt more heavy-handed tactics. While rioters in neighbouring fellow-democratic countries are often met with water cannons and tear gas, the UK has long abided by principles set out by 19th century prime minister Robert Peel, considered the country’s father of modern policing. These state that the power of the police relies on public approval, rather than the state, and that “only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary” should be used. UK police can use tasers and have used tear gas before, but “very much as a last resort,” Hugo Gorringe, Head of Sociology at the University of Edinburgh, said. Police should also pursue a relationship with the public “that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police”. So rather than the specialised riot police responsible for crowd control in France, responsibility for quelling violence in the UK rests on normal officers in local forces. “The police are basically citizens in uniform and are integrated in the wider community” rather than living in military barracks, explained Gorringe. “There isn’t a dedicated riot team. There are officers who have riot training. Then they get kitted up, they have their protective helmets and shields, and they respond.” This was seen on the streets of Southport, north west England, last Tuesday, when violence first erupted in the wake of the murder of three young girls in a knife attack the previous day. If police become overwhelmed, trained officers can be drafted in from nearby forces. As the violence spread across the country last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a “standing army” of 6,000 specialist public order officers. But rather than marking a shift towards a harsher European model, the announcement was instead “tough rhetoric” that signalled “officers with the relevant training are going to be on standby,” said Gorringe. That riots in the UK are “mercifully rare” is partly down to its policing by consent model, he argued. Recognising that “going in too heavy and too hard can escalate an issue,” police have often stood back and then arrested people later, with a wave of prosecution in recent days. Intelligence gathering and community engagement have also been used to help predict and prevent violence. “You do rely on trust and community relations to know where and when to deploy forces,” said Gorringe. However, West Midlands Police came in for criticism after it said it had allowed a rowdy group of men, some clearly armed as they smashed up cars and a pub, to gather after community leaders convinced them they would not cause trouble. That criticism, along with shocking images of police fighting hand-to-hand with rioters, are a challenge to the core tenets of policing by consent, with Gorringe saying “the model is under threat on multiple fronts.” One of those calling for harsher methods is Kevin Moore, former chief of Sussex Police. “If you look at the tactics used by European police forces they don’t mess around. They’d be wheeling out the old water cannon,” he told the Daily Mail. London’s Metropolitan Police force does have water cannons, which were bought by city mayor Boris Johnson, who later became prime minister, following riots in 2011. But then interior minister Theresa May – Johnson’s predecessor as prime minister – refused to authorise their use. “Where the medical and scientific evidence suggests those powers could cause serious harm, where the operational case is not clear, and where the historic principle of policing by consent could be placed at risk, I will not give my agreement,” said May. There are also “question marks about how effective water cannon are for fast and agile disorder,” Gorringe said. But he said that tear gas may have been appropriate during violence in Rotherham, northern England, when a hotel housing asylum seekers was targeted. If riots continue, then “there’ll be much more of a justification for the cost of things like water cannon,” he added.

Riots challenge UK’s centuries-old policing code

The UK’s worst riots in more than a decade has some asking: are British police being hard enough?