205:. Scarman was concerned with the "plight" of the ethnic communities in UK inner cities and their relationship with the rest of the national "community". He concluded that it was essential that "people are encouraged to secure a stake in, feel a pride in, and have a sense of responsibility for their own area". While the importance of community involvement in policing was recognised, the Scarman report pointed to "community redevelopment and planning" as the main area of concern. Scarman called for a policy of "direct coordinated attack on racial disadvantage".
96:, which allowed police to stop and search (and ultimately jail) individuals on the basis of a mere 'suspicion' of wrongdoing. Plain clothes police officers were dispatched into Brixton, and in five days almost 1,000 people were stopped and searched. The riot resulted in 299 injuries to police and 65 injuries to members of the public; over a hundred vehicles were burned, including 56 police vehicles; and almost 150 buildings were damaged, with 28 burned. There were 82 arrests. Reports suggested that up to 5,000 people were involved in the riot.
222:"The allegation that the police are the oppressive arm of a racist state not only display a complete ignorance of the constitutional arrangements of controlling the police, it is an injustice to the senior officers of the force." In his recommendations Scarman accepts that "hard" policing, such as stop and search operations, would be necessary in the future in areas characterised by severe social problems. Hence the Scarman report seeks to establish how policing could be enforced without provoking further outbreaks of disorder.
172:, and the danger of "more violence to come" if changes in both police tactics and social policy were not swiftly introduced. While both the Conservative and Labour speakers in the parliamentary debate on the riots accepted the need to support the police, substantial disagreement centred on the issue of what role social deprivation and unemployment had in bringing young people to protest violently on the streets.
156:
and confidence in official institutions. Multi-agency and "soft" policing emerged through community consultation, youth and "race relations" services. However, in 1999, the
Macpherson Report stated that many of the Scarman report recommendations had been ignored and that, in fact, the Metropolitan Police was "institutionally racist".
217:"Without close parental support, with no job to go to, and with few recreational facilities available the young Black person makes his life the streets and the seedy, commercially-run clubs of Brixton. There he meets criminals, who appear to have no difficulty obtaining the benefits of a materialist society."
221:
The
Scarman report does not apportion blame to the police. While the report acknowledges that "ill considered, immature and racially prejudiced actions of some officers" contributed to the riots Lord Scarman only acknowledges "unwitting discrimination against Black people". The report concludes that
125:
According to the
Scarman report, the riots were a spontaneous outburst of built-up resentment sparked by particular incidents. Lord Scarman stated that "complex political, social and economic factors" created a "disposition towards violent protest". The Scarman report highlighted problems of racial
155:
The theme of the
Scarman report was broadly welcomed, accepted and endorsed by politicians, police commissioners, the press and community relations officials. Some of the report's recommendations were implemented. "Hard policing" continued and new measures were taken to create greater public trust
138:
was conducted by the police without any consultation with the community or the home-beat officers. Liaison arrangements between police, community and local authority had collapsed before the riots and according to the
Scarman report, the local community mistrusted the police and their methods of
133:
Scarman found unquestionable evidence of the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of 'stop and search' powers by the police against black people. The report details the use of arbitrary roadblocks, the stopping and searching of pedestrians and mass detention (943 stops, 118 arrests and 75
212:
at the time. Lord
Scarman identified the causes of the riots in the pathology of the Caribbean family, in the question of bilingualism amongst Asian children and in the undefined problem of policing a multi-racial society. In doing so Scarman highlighted what Robert Beckford has termed a
159:
The
Scarman report pushed the issue of law and order, and specifically policing, onto the mainstream agenda. The debate in the House of Parliament to mark the publication of the Scarman report on the 26 November 1981 had as its theme "law and order" and the then leader of the
104:
As part of the inquiry the following individuals and groups gave evidence: The
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (Counsel - Mr J Hazan QC and Mr L Marshall Concern), the Council for Community Relations of Lambeth,
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168:, argued that "urgent action" to prevent a drift into lawlessness was necessary. A subsequent debate in March 1982 referenced the events of 1981 and focused on the impact of street violence, crime,
777:
38:
The terms of reference for the enquiry were "to inquire urgently into the serious disorder in
Brixton on 10–12 April 1981 and to report, with the power to make recommendations".
110:
130:
decline, warning that "urgent action" was needed to prevent racial disadvantage becoming an "endemic, ineradicable disease threatening the very survival of our society".
139:
policing. Scarman recommended changes in training and law enforcement, and the recruitment of more ethnic minorities into the police force. According to the report "
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on 14 April 1981 (two days after the rioting ended) to hold the enquiry into the riots. The
Scarman report was published on 25 November 1981.
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relations". According to Paul Rich, Lord Scarman's views expressed in the Scarman report most closely resembled that of the mid-
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The Scarman report sought to locate the riots in the social, economic and political context of the acute deprivation in
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As a consequence of the Scarman report a new code for police behaviour was put forward in the
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on 11 April 1981. At the time when Brixton underwent deep social and economic problems — high
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727:'The Language of Racism - An examination of Lord Scarman's Report on the Brixton riots',
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185:, established in 1985, to attempt to restore public confidence in the police.
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Actions against memorials in Great Britain during the George Floyd protests
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16:
Report commissioned by the UK Government following the 1981 Brixton riots
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Uprising! The Police, the People and the Riots in Britain's Cities
209:
93:
57:
61:
213:"pathological image of Black youth". According to the report:
501:
Public Order and Private Lives: The Politics of Law and Order
69:
53:
147:
to tackle racial disadvantage was "a price worth paying".
590:
255:, Mr JGM Laws and Mr L Crawford (Counsel for the Inquiry)
447:"How smouldering tension erupted to set Brixton aflame"
709:
Hall, Stuart, "From Scarman to Stephen Lawrence", in
23:
was commissioned by the UK Government following the
349:"1981: Brixton riots report blames racial tension"
541:The Changing Pattern of Black Politics in Britain
1456:
675:
673:
671:
193:Scarman reported a shift from a concern about "
189:"Community relations" and "institutional racism"
109:, Brixton local community groups and clubs, the
92:, mainly through the heavy use of the so-called
120:
242:Nicholas Montgomery Pott (Assistant Secretary)
750:
668:
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413:
315:
313:
311:
309:
307:
305:
88:at the beginning of April, aimed at reducing
683:Jesus dub: theology, music and social change
591:Cashmore, Ernest; Eugene McLaughlin (1991).
375:
1366:George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom
611:
757:
743:
526:
341:
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181:; and the act also created an independent
497:
1465:Reports of the United Kingdom government
679:
623:Independent Police Complaints Commission
1457:
537:
738:
467:
427:from the original on 21 December 2021
376:Kettle, Martin; Hodges, Lucy (1982).
178:Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
31:was appointed by then Home Secretary
764:
647:
594:Out of order?: policing black people
41:
853:1768 Massacre of St George's Fields
651:race and empire in British politics
13:
1475:History of the Metropolitan Police
1238:1999 Carnival Against Capital riot
703:
566:"Q&A: Stephen Lawrence murder"
14:
1486:
654:. CUP Archive. pp. 212–213.
498:Brake, Mike; Hale, Chris (1991).
245:Ted McCormick and Melissa Grant (
1318:2011 Stokes Croft riot (Bristol)
225:
1323:2011 UK anti-austerity protests
1285:2009 G20 London summit protests
1218:1994 Criminal Justice Bill riot
778:1189–1190 Massacres of the Jews
641:
584:
558:
1208:1992 Hartcliffe riot (Bristol)
1077:1974 Red Lion Square disorders
1021:1932 Old Market riot (Bristol)
491:
439:
398:
369:
115:Commission for Racial Equality
1:
1328:2011 London anti-cuts protest
953:1838 Battle of Bossenden Wood
909:1816 Ely and Littleport riots
883:1795 Revolt of the housewives
725:Martin Barker and Anne Beezer
686:. Routledge. pp. 46–47.
475:"Untold: 1981 riots timeline"
321:"Q&A: The Scarman Report"
296:
1193:1990 Strangeways Prison riot
1051:1958 Notting Hill race riots
1036:1943 Battle of Bamber Bridge
968:1866 Hyde Park demonstration
788:1355 St Scholastica Day riot
150:
121:Findings and recommendations
7:
1233:1996 Trafalgar Square riots
1031:1936 Battle of Cable Street
863:1776 Nottingham cheese riot
544:. Pluto Press. p. 54.
421:"Battle 4 Brixton pt6 of 6"
259:
183:Police Complaints Authority
111:Brixton Legal Defence Group
99:
78:African-Caribbean community
10:
1491:
1026:1932 National Hunger March
1016:1919 Luton Peace Day riots
423:. YouTube. 22 April 2008.
409:YouTube Battle for Brixton
405:YouTube Battle for Brixton
45:
1444:Territorial Support Group
1416:
1400:
1388:2024 United Kingdom riots
1358:
1305:
1257:
1250:
1180:
1160:Murder of Keith Blakelock
1155:1985 Broadwater Farm riot
1100:
1092:1979 Death of Blair Peach
1064:
1011:1919 Battle of Bow Street
993:
986:
891:
818:
770:
680:Beckford, Robert (2006).
597:. Routledge. p. 51.
170:decaying urban conditions
107:London Borough of Lambeth
1313:2010 UK student protests
963:1865 Leeds dripping riot
878:1793 Bristol Bridge riot
711:History Workshop Journal
1087:1977 Battle of Lewisham
919:1821 Cinderloo Uprising
729:International Socialism
538:Shukra, Kalbir (1998).
455:. London. 13 April 1981
276:Chapeltown riots (1981)
145:positive discrimination
1338:Killing of Mark Duggan
1290:Death of Ian Tomlinson
1198:1991 Meadow Well riots
1072:1970 Garden House riot
914:1819 Peterloo Massacre
858:1769 Spitalfield riots
826:1710 Sacheverell riots
810:1668 Bawdy House riots
648:Rich, Paul B. (1990).
625:. 2010. Archived from
219:
1439:Public Order Act 1986
1378:2022 Leicester unrest
1280:2005 Birmingham riots
1203:1991 Handsworth riots
1145:1985 Handsworth riots
1138:1981 Handsworth riots
1123:1981 Chapeltown riots
1041:1944 Park Street riot
904:1816 Spa Fields riots
831:1714 Coronation riots
793:1381 Peasants' Revolt
271:1981 Handsworth riots
215:
143:" did not exist, but
76:— in a predominantly
1343:House of Reeves fire
1297:2009 Upton Park riot
1223:1995 Manningham riot
1167:1987 Chapeltown riot
1082:1975 Chapeltown riot
1001:1907 Brown Dog riots
899:1809 Old Price riots
873:1791 Priestley riots
384:. pp. 100–102.
141:institutional racism
1408:1981 Scarman report
1383:2024 Harehills riot
1275:2001 Harehills riot
1265:2001 Bradford riots
1188:1990 Poll Tax riots
1133:1981 Moss Side riot
1046:1945 Aldershot riot
771:12th–17th centuries
291:Brixton riot (1995)
286:Brixton riot (1985)
266:1980 St. Pauls riot
82:Metropolitan Police
72:, poor housing, no
1333:2011 England riots
1213:1993 Welling riots
1172:1989 Dewsbury riot
1128:1981 Toxteth riots
1113:1981 England riots
1108:1980 St Pauls riot
1056:1968 student riots
973:1887 Bloody Sunday
958:1842 Pottery Riots
941:1831 Bristol riots
836:1715 England riots
783:The revolt of 1196
718:The Scarman Report
713:, issue 48 (1999).
487:on 5 January 2008.
357:. 25 November 2010
136:Operation Swamp 81
86:Operation Swamp 81
25:1981 Brixton riots
1452:
1451:
1396:
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1270:2001 Oldham riots
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1228:1995 Brixton riot
1150:1985 Brixton riot
1118:1981 Brixton riot
978:1896 Newlyn riots
936:1831 reform riots
868:1780 Gordon riots
805:1517 Evil May Day
693:978-0-415-31019-2
661:978-0-521-38958-7
604:978-0-415-03726-6
572:. BBC. 5 May 2004
551:978-0-7453-1460-0
519:978-0-415-02567-6
391:978-0-330-26845-5
126:disadvantage and
48:1981 Brixton riot
42:1981 Brixton riot
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948:1832 Days of May
924:1830 Swing riots
798:Treason Act 1381
765:Riots in England
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619:"IPCC - History"
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1429:Riots in London
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329:. 27 April 2004
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629:on 9 June 2008
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