The NYA Blog
Comment from National Youth Agency chief executive Fiona Blacke on the riots that have taken place across the country this week
10 August 2011
“My colleagues at the National Youth Agency and I have been shocked by the outbreak of riots in London and major cities across the country.
Once again the media is full of images of violent, menacing gangs of hooded youth- its hard to remember that the young people who riot are only a tiny percentage of young people most of whom are equally shocked and outraged.
We understand the horror and anger in communities as they see gangs of young people damaging property, injuring police and looting.
Of course the immediate response has to be to stop it quickly, arrest those who have been involved in criminal acts and restore law and order.
But once order has been restored, we must find out why young people have chosen to act in this way now, when there have been many occasions and triggers over the past 20 years for them to do this when they have not.
Putting this down to escalation and mindless copycat behaviour, following the unexplained death of a young man in London, feels naïve.
Ease of social networking might be a factor in escalation, but it’s not a cause. Cuts in public services may leave young people more isolated, but again its hard to see this alone as the trigger factor.
A recent survey of young people undertaken by O2 highlighted that 23 per cent of young people feel depressed about their futures. Is it this sense of hopelessness which is making a small group of young people believe they have no stake in a society that has nothing to offer them?
This is not an excuse, but it might be a reality and one, which if not acknowledged and addressed, will mean this kind of angry behaviour becomes uncontainable.
Once COBRA has concluded the policing response to the riots it is incumbent on those of us planning, funding, commissioning and delivering youth facing services across public, private and community sectors to come together and consider why this has happened and, if the cause is hopelessness, engaging with these young people to find ways of restoring hope to what seems to be becoming a lost part of a generation.”
It because lack of job Opportunites and a lack of youth centres.
Posted by Kiatipat Tongyotha on 30/08/2011
totally agree, must seek causes and only through intervention will these issues be solved
Posted by rachael gibson on 26/09/2011
Hi Fiona, thanks for that great article. You have raised some excellent points that make us all wonder what is really the deep down cause of the disconnection of some of our young people. I agree with you that now the media buzz has got out of the way, we can take a real look at what the underlying problems are and how we go about solving them. I'm sure that there is no quick fix however, we have got to get started today otherwise we're likely to see a reoccurrence in the future. I do think the solution lies in the combination of young people, family and teachers/mentors. We really need to raise the belief of the young people that they can achieve the dreams and goals. If you get a few moments, you may want to take a read of a blog article that I also wrote in the aftermath of the riots. Young Rioters Wreak Havoc In UK: "Is This A Show Of Power Or A Cry For Help?" - http://donovangrant.com/young-rioters-wreak/ I look forward to reading more of your interesting articles. Donovan Grant Youth Coach & Writer
Posted by Donovan Grant on 29/10/2011