Earlier today I went to see the Ealing Studios classic “Whisky Galore” at the Odeon Cinema in Panton Street.  The film, of course, describes the actions of Scottish islanders in recovering a cargo of whisky from a shipwreck at a time of acute whisky shortage during the Second World War despite the best efforts of Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise.

The film is a paeon to the joys of looting.

Indeed, it is nothing short of incitement to loot.

Yet earlier today Jordan Blackshaw and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan were both jailed for four years at Chester Crown Court for using Facebook to incite people to riot.

So will the Managers of the Odeon Cinema in Panton Street now expect to be arrested under sections 44 and 46 of the Serious Crime Act for intentionally encouraging another to assist the commission of an indictable offence?

They may need to watch themselves …..

 Of course, the police may like to wait until after next week’s showings of “Kind Hearts and Coronets” – an incitement to murder members of the aristocracy if ever I saw one …..

David Cameron would clearly like to see Bill Bratton, the former Commissioner of the New York, Los Angeles and Boston Police (obviously not at the same time), appointed as the next Commissioner of Police for London.  His insistence is clearly a snub both to the Home Office and to senior British police, as the Dail Mail puts it “Dave MUST get the world’s best copper…even if that means upsetting Ms May and the Met jobsworths“.  It is also a swipe at Mayor Boris Johnson, who dismissed the idea and pointed out to Sky News that Bratton’s success in combatting crime in New York  was mostly down to a huge ramp-up of police numbers, from 30,000 to 42,000.

Cameron’s criticisms of the police are clearly beginning to unsettle some Conservative loyalists.  As Peter Bingle, Chairman of Bell Pottinger Public Affairs, wrote last Thursday:

“In the House of Commons today the PM must also do something which he rarely does. He must act and sound like a Tory. When Maggie was PM she always supported the police service. She understood (instinctively) the importance of the office of constable and that the police were unlike other public servants. In the months ahead the government will rely more and more on brave young police officers to maintain order. Today the PM needs to set out how he and his government are going to support the police. As part of this more money will need to be found. The public will demand this from their prime minister. For once he needs to nod towards Tory Party opinion.”

Nevertheless, David Cameron is clearly fixated on the idea that the appointment of Bill Bratton will make everything all right.

But will it?

Jessica de Grazia, a former chief assistant District Attorney in New York, writing in The Guardian tonight points out that:

“America’s former top cop broke the first two rules of capacity-building (in this case, foreigners teaching others how to reform their law and institutions) by: first, “disrespecting” the British police; and second, showing a lack of local knowledge. … Lack of local knowledge is understandable; our shared language conceals big differences between the laws and institutions of the US, on the one hand, and Great Britain and the Commonwealth, on the other. Not least is the British civil service’s “no risk” culture and its obsession with process, which can be maddening to a proactive, outcome-oriented American.”

And she reminds us:

“ London’s gang problem is minuscule compared to LA’s. In 2009, with a population about half the size of London (4 million compared to 7.75 million), LA had 157 gang murders. London had only 13! Since 2002, the Met has got homicides down from 219 to 124. In my book, that’s sterling police work.”

And on the events of the last ten days:

“Regarding the August riots, the police can’t be faulted for not planning for an entirely new situation: gangs using encrypted BlackBerry messaging to organise hit-and-run riots the length and breadth of London. Instead, measure their performance by adaptability, and the extent of injury to life and property.

In the last serious New York riot (in August 1977, which was triggered by a 25-hour city-wide blackout), the police massed in midtown Manhattan, instead of the ghettos where previous rioting had always occurred. In the city’s poorest neighbourhoods, thousands of homes and small businesses were burned out and looted; the final bill came to $155m, in 1977 dollars. In the 1992 LA riots, 54 people were killed – 10 by the police and army. Ten years later, 22 of those murders were still unsolved. There have been four deaths in the August riots, all caused by criminals retaliating against Good Samaritans. Within a week, the police and CPS had arrested or charged the suspects.”

None of this means that Bill Bratton’s advice is not worth listening to, but that is not the same as saying that he will make a good Metropolitan Police Commissioner. David Cameron’s insistence that he will – without the benefit of a proper open appointments process – suggests that the insistence is more about soundbite politics that delivering an effective police force in London.

The House of Lords sat today and the Leader of the House (Lord Strathclyde) repeated a statement made in the House of Commons by the Prime Minister on the riots over the last week.  The Prime Minister’s speech was carefully tailored with soundbites for the televison news, but it was notable for what it missed out or skated around.

The Prime Minister stressed how important it had been to flood London with extra police officers.  However, there was no mention of the fact that the Government is cutting the police budget by 20 per cent, that police numbers have already fallen by 4,600 since the General Election, and are set to fall even further (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary estimates that there will be over 16,200 fewer officers by 2015).  When in the Lords, Lord Strathclyde suggested that these cuts would “not affect the police’s ability to get policemen on the streets” he was greeted by a chorus of disbelief (or “Oh!” as Hansard puts it) on all sides.

The Prime Minister praised the role of CCTV in catching those responsible for the violence and looting.  However, he didn’t mention that as part of the Coalition agreement the Government was now putting large bureaucratic hurdles in the way of local councils installing CCTV to reduce crime.

The Prime Minister talked of a robust approach to tackling gang violence, but he failed to mention that in opposition the Conservatives had voted against measures to extend the powers to obtain injunctions to stem such gang-related violence and Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General, who was then Shadow Home Secretary, had described the use of injunctions as a “legally dubious gimmick”.

The statement was light on substance and where what sounded like practical measures were mentioned they often seemed to mean very little in practice.  For example, the Prime Minister said that the Government would be supporting local communities affected and that ”the Bellwin scheme to support local authorities will be operational”.  This, of course, only means that local councils get some support from central government when additional – approved - spending for a specific cause exceeds two per cent of their annual expenditure.  This is a very high hurdle indeed – and even then the help only extends to the spending over the two per cent threshhold.

When I got my chance to ask a question, this is what I said:

“Lord Harris of Haringey: My Lords, I declare an interest as a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority and a former leader of Haringey Council, where I spent about 12 years of my life trying to secure the sustainable regeneration of the area of Tottenham. One of the tragedies of what has happened in the past few days is that the stigma of an area of riot has again fallen on that community, and that the efforts built up over many years are now being undermined, with businesses no longer being able to survive.

Do the Government believe that the Bellwin formula will be a sufficient response to ensure the reconstruction that will be needed? This will be of communities after the damage that has been done, and must also tackle underlying problems. Will they review the resources being made available to local government for regeneration in such areas? Will they also review the way in which the Riot (Damages) Act operates? If it would drain funds from police forces to compensate people who have been hit and damaged by the riots, that would be extremely damaging to the sustaining of police numbers in future. Finally, what advice was taken from the police service about the decision that water cannon should be made available on the mainland? It is used usually for the dispersal of large crowds, but the problem in this case was caused by small groups of people acting opportunistically.”

The point about the Riot (Damages) Act is important because it means that compensation to individuals or businesses adversely affected by a riot has to be paid from the police budget – so budgets already cut as a result of Government policy will be drained further to pay compensation.

And then there was the Prime Minister’s soundbite about water cannon.  Water cannon have been used in Northern Ireland – not without controversy – but their effectiveness is in dispersing large hostile crowds.  The problems that there have been with looters in London and other cities have been with small opportunistic groups.  They are already dispersed.  Water cannon would not help deal with such small fast-moving groups.

This – like the soundbite about authorising the use of plastic bullets or baton rounds – seems to be more about pandering to excitable back-bench Tory MPs rather than addressing the serious issues that affect our cities.

Am I surprised?

Well, no ….

Yesterday, I reported that, despite what the Prime Minister had said, Parliament was not being recalled – only the House of Commons.  Apparently, the Leader of the House of Lords had not seen the need for the Upper House to be recalled.

Overnight, there was a change of heart and this morning it was announced that the House of Lords would after all sit at noon tomorrow.

Was it something I said?

Earlier today the Prime Minister announced that Parliament was being recalled on Thursday to discuss the disturbances in London and elsewhere.

It turns out that this is not true. 

Only the House of Commons is being recalled.  Unusually, the House of Lords is not going to be sitting as well. 

Apparently, Thomas Galloway Dunlop du Roy de Blicquy Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde, Leader of the House of Lords, was not keen ……

The violent scenes in London in the last few days have been appalling and shocking.  There can be no excuse for the violence and vandalism.  In some cases, this will force the closure of the small businesses that have been targetted.  And the stigma and blight that will fall on some areas of the capital will make it even more difficult for local councils trying to strengthen and build sustainable local economies in the most deprived areas of our city.

The immediate task is, of course, to restore order to our streets.  And as part of this, the Metropolitan Police has started to put on line photographs of those suspected of being involved in some of the disorder and looting.  These hooligans need to be brought to justice.  So, do you know any of these people?

West Norwood

WestNorwood.Image 1: A male in a grey Nike hooded top with red draw strings and the number “87″ on his back. This male is later involved in a burglary.

WestNorwood.Image 2: A group of eight males gathering outside the shop. A distinctive male in a white and red Addidas logo on his chest can be seen.

WestNorwood.Image 3: A group of eight males entering the shop. Note the male in the Stone Island hooded jacket, blue Nike tracksuit bottoms and blue face scarf.

WestNorwood.Image 4: A close up of the “87″ male.

WestNorwood.Image 5: An image of a male joining the group wearing a blue Nike hooded top and red face scarf.

Croydon

Croydon.Image 1 – 21:45hrs 8 August: Two females outside PC World on Purley Way. These females entered the store after it had been broken in to.

Croydon.Image 2 – 21:45:55hrs 8 August: a facial shot of a female in a crowd of other looters outside PC World in Purley Way

Croydon.Image 10 – 21:42:08hrs 8 August: a male outside a jewellers shop in London Road about to enter shop

Croydon.Image 12 – 01:34:23hrs 9 August: a male with grey hooded top and black body warmer about to enter Cash Plus in Thornton Heath

Croydon.Image 13 – 02:47:52hrs on 9 August: a male with black hooded coat entering a jewellers in Church Road, Croydon

Croydon.Image 14 – 02:40:23hrs 9 August: two males stealing from a jewellers in Church Road

Croydon/Image 15 – 02:40:58hrs 9 August: one of the males shown in ‘Image 12′ carrying a large amount of jewellery from the jewellers in Church Road

Croydon.Image 22 – 22:41:52hrs 8 August: a shaven headed male who enters Richer Sounds, South End, Croydon

Croydon.Image 24 – 22:42:20hrs 8 August: two female suspects entering Richer Sounds, South End, Croydon

Croydon.Image 25 – 22:45:26hrs 8 August: a female wearing a vest top who has just carried items from Richer Sounds.

(more…)

I gather that the Total Politics Blog Awards are now in progress.  I want to make it quite clear that I will not be in the least bit affronted should you chose to vote for this blog by clicking here.

Theresa May is flying back from her holiday for urgent meetings to discuss the response to the London disturbances with senior police officers.
She understands that this is an important part of her role as Home Secretary.
(It of course demonstrates how much confidence she has in Mayor Boris Johnson to get it right in her absence and she must regret leaving Lynne Featherstone in charge of the Home Office for even ten minutes.)
What it also highlights is the decision of George Osborne and David Cameron to stay put on their expensive foreign trips while the world economy goes into meltdown.
She increasingly looks like the next Leader of the Conservative Party…..

The news in the last seventy-two hours takes me back to the 1985:  the Broadwater Farm disturbances and the events that led up to them.  In October 1985, the death of Mrs Jarrett during a police search of her home was followed by a demonstration outside Tottenham Police Station which in turn was followed by violence on the Broadwater Farm estate, during which PC Keith Blakelock was hacked to death.

My immediate response on hearing of the shooting dead by police of Mark Duggan, who at that stage had not been named, was to warn of a “potentially lively community reaction”.  And anyone who remembers vividly as I do the night of 6th October 1985 would have seen yesterday’s demonstration outside the Police Station as a likely trigger for attacks on the police and even for rioting.

There are, of course, many parallels with 26 years ago, but also many differences.  In 1985 police-community relations were appalling – even before the riot.  They are nothing like as bad now, but nonetheless could no doubt be better.  Unemployment in Tottenham is not as bad as it was in 1985, but is still the highest in London and the eighth worst rate in the UK.  Tottenham continues to be a vibrant community with much strength in its diversity, but there is still a sense of hopelessness amongst many young people. 

What is depressing is that having spent twelve years of my life as Council Leader trying to kickstart regeneration in Tottenham and Wood Green the need for sustainable economic development remains as acute as it did in the late 1980s.

The irresponsible violence and looting last night can never be acceptable or condoned , but one of its consequences is that many of the businesses affected will have been destroyed by what has happened and others will be damaged by the blight and stigma that may now fall on the area. 

The most important immediate task is to lessen the tension and to address the rumours that are swirling about the death of Mark Duggan.   The Independent Police Complaints Commission could make a big contribution to this.  One of the problems with this sort of dreadful incident is that often the investigation is shrouded in total secrecy and in the absence of hard information unsubstantiated stories or even malicious misinformation spread like wildfire – this is particularly so now in the age of Twitter.  I understand that the IPCC are shortly due to make some sort of public statement.  I hope they will be as open as possible and commit to providing regular briefings about the state of their investigation.  As soon as they are able to confirm or otherwise, for example, whether a non-police weapon was at the scene or not and whether it was fired or not, the better it will be.

The next urgent task is to get Tottenham and Wood Green functioning again.  The police will obviously have an important job to do in sifting through the debris for evidence (indeed, it still needs to be conclusively established that nobody burnt to death in the fires that swept through buildings).  However, I hope this can be done as quickly as possible so that the clear-up can begin and those businesses that are able to can start to function again.  Haringey Council will no doubt put in significant resources to enable this clean-up to happen but I hope that the Government will undertake to underwrite this work given that the Council is still having to implement swingeing budget reductions as a result of cuts in Government grants.

There will also need to be a review of what lessons need to be learned about the police response to the developing disturbances last night.  Many people in Tottenham and Wood Green felt undefended despite the bravery of the police and fire officers deployed.  Should there have been better intelligence about what was likely to happen?  Should more efforts have been made to monitor the traffic on social media sites?  Indeed, what is a proportionate and appropriate level of such monitoring?  I am sure colleagues on the Metropolitan Police Authority will want to pursue these issues in detail (it is not quite clear who will do this once the Police Authority is abolished once the Government’s Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill gets Royal Assent in September or October).

Finally, some of the underlying causes of what happened need to be addressed.  What is to be done about escalating gun violence in  London (particularly if police resources are to be reduced as part of Government policy)?  When is Tottenham going to see the regeneration it deserves and how are young people in Haringey going to be supported to achieve their true potential?