Britain is considering a number of extraordinary measures in the aftermath of what some are claiming to be the worst riots in England’s history. One of them would make former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani proud.
Calling the recent riots a “turning point in British history ” Prime Minister David Cameron has reached across the Atlantic tapping Bill Bratton — America’s “super-cop” — to advise him on how to prevent future outbreaks of street violence from permanently marring England’s image as a pleasant law-abiding society.
With billions of pounds in revenue riding on London hosting next year’s Olympic Games Bratton who reformed police forces in both Los Angeles and New York has his work cut out for him.
The catalyst for the riots was the death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan a black youth in Tottenham North London shot by police when they pulled over his minicab to carry out an arrest as part of a preplanned operation. Initial reports indicated that Duggan fired at police first but those reports have since been discounted.
Although the Duggan shooting may have served as the pretext for the initial riots the “copycat” riots that sprang up nationwide appeared to be fueled by an indiscriminate unfocused rage unrelated to Duggan. The riots showed the world that violence and rage are simmering just below the surface in England that it doesn’t take much to set those forces loose and that once violence rages law enforcement officials have trouble containing it.
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