Riots in Croydon: What we are seeing here is mindless vandalism

10 August 2011

9th August 2011

Press Release immediate

WHAT WE ARE SEEING HERE IS MINDLESS VANDALISM

Jenny Jones, Green member of the London Assembly and the party's candidate for Mayor in 2012, said:

'What we are seeing is mindless vandalism, spreading first within London, and now in other cities, with no regard at all for the safety of other people.'

She continued,

'Violence, arson and looting can never be justified. The actions by rioters are endangering people's lives. The priority of the police has to be to protect the public in their own homes and businesses.'

Coordinator of the Croydon Green Party, Shasha Khan added,

'We are all feeling sadness, anger and disbelief of what has happened. Once the dust has settled, and order has been restored there needs to be some careful analysis of why this happened.

'The reasons for the riots are deep rooted and multifaceted. People aren't born looters, thugs or muggers. Something has gone dreadfully wrong.'

A gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'

'What is quite stark to me is if these rioters feel they haven't got a future, then they would also feel they haven't got anything to lose. This leads one to conclude the problem is inequality.

'Unequal countries like USA and the UK experience this type of social destruction, whereas countries where the gap between the ‘haves' and ‘have nots' is not so wide do not.'

Mr Khan concluded,

'One can argue that rising youth unemployment and the ever-increasing cost of further education and the closure of youth clubs do not help the situation.'

ENDS

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