Erstellt am: 10. 8. 2011 - 14:59 Uhr

Violence, vandalism and the psychology of a riot

Reality Check: England riots spread to major cities and a doctor from Licht für die Welt explains the broader health risks of the famine in Africa

Teenagers say "how great the riots are"

What I've been struggling with over the last few days is why young people (and in many cases it's kids of 11, 12 & 13 years old) have been rioting in the streets with little real care about the consequences for them or their part of their town. Their evenings have been spent putting scarves over their faces, smashing the windows of shops, grabbing clothes or plasma screens, in fact anything they can get hold of, and it's the shops in their parts of town that now look like a real mess.

You may think that because of the scale and sheer force of what's going on the action of the rioters is very well planned, coordinated and they would have very serious stories and grievances to air. But journalists see small kids riding around on bicycles to check where the police are and racing back to pass that information on to the mob ringleaders. It doesn't sound like rocket science.

Listening to some of the rioters beggars belief. I hear it over and over again, they are bored and feel alienated. A BBC interview with two girls in London talking about how great the riot in their part of town was and hoping for more, has become a YouTube hit.

Before I start frowning over my glasses, it's time to turn to the psychologists for some perspective on what's really going on. I spoke with Dr. Clifford Stott at the University of Liverpool, who studies crowd behaviour and dynamics in riot situations. Hearing some of those comments from the teenagers about "how great the riots are" doesn't surprise him. Basically, most of these kids feel alienated from society, that they are not valued and they feel they have very little future.

As far as they are concerned everyone else is to blame, the police, the government, the rich. Even the shopkeeper at the end of the street or the lady who owns the local hair salon is perceived as rich and therefore fair game for having their windows smashed in.

The only way these kids feel they can empower themselves is to take the streets with a brick in their hands, and they feel great elation in doing so. That element of taking control, even for a brief moment, gives them a real sense of muscle and worth that's currently missing in their lives, be it for a few hours, or a few nights, in their otherwise depressing teenage lives.

What we can say is that there are critical stages when a group of disaffected individuals turns into an angry small crowd, that turns into an aggressive mob, that moves on to willful destruction and random violence. It could be true that authorities have been missing those key warning signs, and the work to be done now will concentrate on the rebuilding of ties between youth, community and authorities. That all has to start after the thousands of police slowly step away from riot duty and the courtrooms empty of the many kids who can now add a criminal conviction to their CVs.

Also on Reality Check: the broader threat of famine

The health threats from famine are far wider reaching than many of us would ever imagine.

A doctor from Licht für die Welt explains how those suffering from malnutrition in Africa are threatened by conditions such as blindness as a result of dietry deficiencies.

FM4 Reality Check

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