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1981 Brixton riot
The 1981 Brixton riot, or Brixton uprising, was a series of clashes between mainly black youths and the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, London, between 10 and 12 April 1981. It resulted from racial discrimination against the local black community by the mainly white police, notably over the police's increased use of stop-and-search in the area, and tensions resulting from the deaths of 13 black teenagers and young adults in the suspicious New Cross house fire that January. The main riot on 11 April, dubbed "Bloody Saturday" by Time magazine, resulted in 279 injuries to police and 45 injuries to members of the public; over a hundred vehicles were burned, including 56 police vehicles; almost 150 buildings were damaged, thirty of which were burnt out, and many shops were looted. There were 82 arrests. Reports suggested that up to 5,000 people were involved. The Brixton riot was followed by the 1981 England riots in July in many other English cities and towns. The Thatcher government commissioned an inquiry, which resulted in the Scarman Report.
Brixton in South London was an area with serious social and economic problems. The United Kingdom was affected by a recession by 1981, but the local African-Caribbean community was suffering particularly high unemployment, poor housing and a higher-than-average crime rate.
In the preceding months there had been growing unease between the police and the inhabitants of Lambeth, the borough of London in which Brixton is located. On 18 January 1981, thirteen black youths died in a fire during a house party in New Cross, in the nearby Borough of Lewisham. Although authorities stated that the fire started inside and was accidental, the public believed it was an arson attack and criticised the police investigation as inadequate. Black activists, including Darcus Howe, organised a march for the "Black People's Day of Action" on 2 March. Accounts of turnout vary from 5,000 to 20,000 to 25,000. The marchers walked 17 miles (27 km) from Deptford to Hyde Park, passing the Houses of Parliament and Fleet Street. While the majority of the march finished in Hyde Park without incident, there was some confrontation with police at Blackfriars. According to Professor Les Back, "while the local press reported the march respectfully, the national papers unloaded the full weight of racial stereotyping." The Evening Standard's front-page headline had displayed a photo of a policeman with a bloody face juxtaposed with Darcus Howe's quote about the march being "A good day". A few weeks later, the police arrested some of the march organisers and charged them with the offence of riot, but they were later acquitted.
In 1980, 30,805 crimes were recorded in the borough of Lambeth, with 10,626 of those taking place in the Brixton division. Between 1976 and 1980, 35% of all crimes in the borough, and 49% of robbery and violent theft offences, occurred in Brixton. The police recognised the rising crime, at the beginning of April, the Metropolitan Police began Operation Swamp 81, a plain clothes operation to reduce crime (named after prime minister Margaret Thatcher's 1978 assertion that the UK "might be rather swamped by people with a different culture") and uniformed patrols were increased in the area. Officers from other Metropolitan police districts and the Special Patrol Group were dispatched to Brixton, and within five days, 943 people were stopped and searched, with 82 arrested, through mass use of what was colloquially known as the "Sus law". This referred to powers under the Vagrancy Act 1824, which allowed police to search and arrest members of the public when it was believed that they were acting suspiciously and not necessarily committing a crime. The African-Caribbean community accused the police of disproportionately using these powers against black people.
On Friday 10 April, at around 6:10pm, a police constable spotted a black youth named Michael Bailey running towards him, apparently away from three other black youths. Bailey was stopped and found to be badly bleeding, but broke away from the constable. Stopped again on Atlantic Road, Bailey was found to have a four-inch stab wound. He ran into a flat and was helped by a family and the police constable there by putting kitchen roll on his wound. A crowd gathered and, as the police then tried to take the wounded boy to a waiting minicab on Railton Road, the crowd tried to intervene thinking the police did not appear to be providing or seeking the medical help Bailey needed quickly enough. As the minicab pulled away at speed a police car arrived and stopped the cab. When an officer from the police car realised Bailey was wounded he moved him into the back of the police car to take him to hospital more quickly, and bound his wound more tightly to stop the bleeding. A group of 50 youths began to shout for Bailey's release, thinking the police were arresting him. "Look, they're killing him," claimed one. The crowd descended on the police car and pulled him out.[citation needed]
Rumours spread that a youth had been left to die by the police, or that the police looked on as the stabbed youth was lying on the street. More than 200 youths, black and white with predominantly Afro-Caribbean heritage, reportedly turned on the police. The police decided to increase the number of foot patrols in Railton Road, despite the tensions, and carry on with Operation Swamp 81 throughout the night and into the following day.
It was inaccurately believed by the local community that the stabbed youth died, and that it was a result of police brutality. This fuelled tensions throughout the day as crowds slowly gathered. Tensions first erupted around 4 pm, as two police officers stopped and searched a mini cab in Railton Road. By this time Brixton Road (Brixton High Street) was reportedly filled with angry people and police cars were pelted with bricks. At around 5 pm the tension escalatedand the 9 pm BBC News bulletin that evening reported 46 police officers injured, five seriously. Shops were looted on Railton Road, Mayall Road, Leeson Road, Acre Lane and Brixton Road. The looting in Brixton reportedly started at around 6 pm. At 6:15 pm the fire brigade received their first call, as a police van was set on fire by rioters in Railton Road, with the fire brigade being warned "riot in progress". As the fire brigade approached the police cordon, they were waved through without warning, driving down Railton Road towards 300 youths armed with bottles and bricks. The fire brigade met the crowd at the junction between Railton Road and Shakespeare Road and were attacked with stones and bottles.
The police put out emergency calls to police officers across London, asking for assistance. They had no strategy, and only had inadequate helmets and non-fireproof plastic shields to protect themselves with while clearing the streets of rioters. The police reportedly also had difficulties in radio communication. The police proceeded in clearing the Atlantic–Railton–Mayall area by pushing the rioters down the road, forming deep shield walls. The rioters threw bricks, bottles, and petrol bombs. At 5.30 pm the violence further escalated. Non-rioting members of the public attempted to mediate between the police and the rioters, calling for a de-escalation by withdrawing police from the area. The destructive efforts of the rioters peaked at around 8 pm, as the attempts at mediation failed. Two pubs, 26 businesses, schools and other structures were set alight in the riots.
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1981 Brixton riot
The 1981 Brixton riot, or Brixton uprising, was a series of clashes between mainly black youths and the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, London, between 10 and 12 April 1981. It resulted from racial discrimination against the local black community by the mainly white police, notably over the police's increased use of stop-and-search in the area, and tensions resulting from the deaths of 13 black teenagers and young adults in the suspicious New Cross house fire that January. The main riot on 11 April, dubbed "Bloody Saturday" by Time magazine, resulted in 279 injuries to police and 45 injuries to members of the public; over a hundred vehicles were burned, including 56 police vehicles; almost 150 buildings were damaged, thirty of which were burnt out, and many shops were looted. There were 82 arrests. Reports suggested that up to 5,000 people were involved. The Brixton riot was followed by the 1981 England riots in July in many other English cities and towns. The Thatcher government commissioned an inquiry, which resulted in the Scarman Report.
Brixton in South London was an area with serious social and economic problems. The United Kingdom was affected by a recession by 1981, but the local African-Caribbean community was suffering particularly high unemployment, poor housing and a higher-than-average crime rate.
In the preceding months there had been growing unease between the police and the inhabitants of Lambeth, the borough of London in which Brixton is located. On 18 January 1981, thirteen black youths died in a fire during a house party in New Cross, in the nearby Borough of Lewisham. Although authorities stated that the fire started inside and was accidental, the public believed it was an arson attack and criticised the police investigation as inadequate. Black activists, including Darcus Howe, organised a march for the "Black People's Day of Action" on 2 March. Accounts of turnout vary from 5,000 to 20,000 to 25,000. The marchers walked 17 miles (27 km) from Deptford to Hyde Park, passing the Houses of Parliament and Fleet Street. While the majority of the march finished in Hyde Park without incident, there was some confrontation with police at Blackfriars. According to Professor Les Back, "while the local press reported the march respectfully, the national papers unloaded the full weight of racial stereotyping." The Evening Standard's front-page headline had displayed a photo of a policeman with a bloody face juxtaposed with Darcus Howe's quote about the march being "A good day". A few weeks later, the police arrested some of the march organisers and charged them with the offence of riot, but they were later acquitted.
In 1980, 30,805 crimes were recorded in the borough of Lambeth, with 10,626 of those taking place in the Brixton division. Between 1976 and 1980, 35% of all crimes in the borough, and 49% of robbery and violent theft offences, occurred in Brixton. The police recognised the rising crime, at the beginning of April, the Metropolitan Police began Operation Swamp 81, a plain clothes operation to reduce crime (named after prime minister Margaret Thatcher's 1978 assertion that the UK "might be rather swamped by people with a different culture") and uniformed patrols were increased in the area. Officers from other Metropolitan police districts and the Special Patrol Group were dispatched to Brixton, and within five days, 943 people were stopped and searched, with 82 arrested, through mass use of what was colloquially known as the "Sus law". This referred to powers under the Vagrancy Act 1824, which allowed police to search and arrest members of the public when it was believed that they were acting suspiciously and not necessarily committing a crime. The African-Caribbean community accused the police of disproportionately using these powers against black people.
On Friday 10 April, at around 6:10pm, a police constable spotted a black youth named Michael Bailey running towards him, apparently away from three other black youths. Bailey was stopped and found to be badly bleeding, but broke away from the constable. Stopped again on Atlantic Road, Bailey was found to have a four-inch stab wound. He ran into a flat and was helped by a family and the police constable there by putting kitchen roll on his wound. A crowd gathered and, as the police then tried to take the wounded boy to a waiting minicab on Railton Road, the crowd tried to intervene thinking the police did not appear to be providing or seeking the medical help Bailey needed quickly enough. As the minicab pulled away at speed a police car arrived and stopped the cab. When an officer from the police car realised Bailey was wounded he moved him into the back of the police car to take him to hospital more quickly, and bound his wound more tightly to stop the bleeding. A group of 50 youths began to shout for Bailey's release, thinking the police were arresting him. "Look, they're killing him," claimed one. The crowd descended on the police car and pulled him out.[citation needed]
Rumours spread that a youth had been left to die by the police, or that the police looked on as the stabbed youth was lying on the street. More than 200 youths, black and white with predominantly Afro-Caribbean heritage, reportedly turned on the police. The police decided to increase the number of foot patrols in Railton Road, despite the tensions, and carry on with Operation Swamp 81 throughout the night and into the following day.
It was inaccurately believed by the local community that the stabbed youth died, and that it was a result of police brutality. This fuelled tensions throughout the day as crowds slowly gathered. Tensions first erupted around 4 pm, as two police officers stopped and searched a mini cab in Railton Road. By this time Brixton Road (Brixton High Street) was reportedly filled with angry people and police cars were pelted with bricks. At around 5 pm the tension escalatedand the 9 pm BBC News bulletin that evening reported 46 police officers injured, five seriously. Shops were looted on Railton Road, Mayall Road, Leeson Road, Acre Lane and Brixton Road. The looting in Brixton reportedly started at around 6 pm. At 6:15 pm the fire brigade received their first call, as a police van was set on fire by rioters in Railton Road, with the fire brigade being warned "riot in progress". As the fire brigade approached the police cordon, they were waved through without warning, driving down Railton Road towards 300 youths armed with bottles and bricks. The fire brigade met the crowd at the junction between Railton Road and Shakespeare Road and were attacked with stones and bottles.
The police put out emergency calls to police officers across London, asking for assistance. They had no strategy, and only had inadequate helmets and non-fireproof plastic shields to protect themselves with while clearing the streets of rioters. The police reportedly also had difficulties in radio communication. The police proceeded in clearing the Atlantic–Railton–Mayall area by pushing the rioters down the road, forming deep shield walls. The rioters threw bricks, bottles, and petrol bombs. At 5.30 pm the violence further escalated. Non-rioting members of the public attempted to mediate between the police and the rioters, calling for a de-escalation by withdrawing police from the area. The destructive efforts of the rioters peaked at around 8 pm, as the attempts at mediation failed. Two pubs, 26 businesses, schools and other structures were set alight in the riots.