Thread: Essay on the recent riots in the UK.

(ok, my first contribution to this forum. I wrote it after the event and just sat on it. A little nervous so gonna have a little Irish-whiskey now. Thank you for reading it. A tad long but hopefully it will entertain you.)

For the sake of victims, our determination for tough policing and justice must not lessen.


It is now a few weeks since the recent riots came to an end, leaving our nation in shock but determined to make those responsible for the carnage pay for their crimes. However, having watched the news channels and read various national newspapers, fears are slowly starting to creep up my spine and they are two-fold: 1) is our determination to punish offenders beginning to fade? and 2) are the Police going to be criticised? Or bear the brunt – physically, financially or emotionally? If so, before it starts, can I ask anyone to ponder on the following question?


Have you ever wondered about the essence of policing? I have. The essence of policing is the protection of property but mainly the protection of people, of human beings. I don’t profess to be highly spiritual but having lost a loved one, I am maybe slightly so. At risk of making an unusual and unheard of comparison, the only beings we know of in charge of protecting other beings are angels. There, I’ve said it. And no, it is not such a far-fetched comparison. Think about it: every time we fail as human beings (and the recent riots are prime examples of failures in human behaviour!) we somehow expect them to fix it and have the fool-proof solution. We expect them to deal with the darker side of our human nature (rapes, kidnaps, murders, drug dealings…) on a daily basis and to always get it right. Yet, when they do try something, we condemn them: I seem to recall an incident at a political Summit and an officer currently waiting to be charged with Manslaughter. They are doomed if they do, doomed if they don’t. In this apparently advanced society that we live in, isn’t it a shame that those whose main duty is our quotidian and constant protection are constantly criticised and hardly ever thanked for their efforts? The probabilities are such that all of us will become victims of crimes at some point in our life (me included – some thug thought it would be a good idea to spell out my nationality on the bonnet of my car). Should we not, instead, try to find ways to support our “boys (and girls) in blue”? I think we should.


The best weapon in the Police’s arsenal is the Law. Therefore, it might be time for us to vote for those politicians who “mean business” when it comes to punishing offenders. Until two months ago, I was unaware of the existence of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales - which recently hold a consultation period over the sentencing for burglaries with renewed emphasis on the impact of burglaries on victims. Oh how wise were they to run such consultation for that we have now 100s more victims of burglaries; courtesy of those idiots who carried out the riots. I hear the frustrations of victims, the families and friends of those victims who believe vigilantism might be part of the solution to stop crimes. I can only beg you to reconsider this view. Your presence in the streets would only complicate matters for the Police. Firstly, remember that for the Police the safety of a person will take priority over the safety of property. This means that should a vigilante find themselves in trouble, it will divert police resources from dealings with the criminals. Secondly, but most importantly, who is to assure that this vigilante, armed with his/her best intentions, is not going to get injured or worse? That would make another victim.


As I once wrote to members of the public, the rules of thumb for policing are: a) the final call is never the Police’s shout (this is made by the various courts) and b) responses to incidents will mainly depend on the resources available. So if we want our “boys in blue” and the criminal justice to get tough on crimes, we have to give them the means to do so. Some years back I was privileged enough to fly to Singapore and I was strangely surprised to read the following on my landing card “all drugs offences will be punished by the Death Penalty”. I am by no means saying we should endorse the Death Penalty but here was a Government which made it perfectly clear that it would take no nonsense regarding a crime that promotes money-laundering, human-trafficking and gun-offences. Reading several of our national newspapers, various theories about the origins of those riots seem to be emerging: exclusion, poverty, hate of the police to name but a few. I beg to differ. Those are mere excuses because admitting the inconvenient truth that respect in general – but more precisely respect for the Police - has been lost would make England sound like a backward state. For years we have failed to support and encourage those who do their best to help us. If anything, any speeding-tickets or penalty notices they issue us with (for doing something we shouldn’t be doing in the first place) are used as infallible proofs of how terrible Police Officers are. As a result, 100s of idiots took to the streets knowing that a) the punishment might not be that harsh and b) should they get into a struggle with an officer, nobody would care about that officer anyway. I am eagerly waiting to hear if some of those rioters will have the audacity to mention some kind of Human Rights in their defence as and when they are charged. If they do, and are allowed to walk free, I can assure you that it will be another blow to the moral of those officers who would have worked so hard to catch them.


Some sceptics amongst you will probably argue that I am a painting a far-too-perfect picture of policing and that failures do occur in investigations and crime cases. I shan’t argue back: failures do happen. Police Forces are made up of officers who are “extracted” from the society they police. Consequently, if this society is racist, self-centre, egotistical, lazy…etc, we are bound to find flawed characters in the Police; or in any of the other emergency services for that matter. My mother could have lost her life due to the “misdiagnosis” of a doctor. Should I distrust all doctors and nurses because of that? No I should not. Others might say that I am bias. I can assure you I have no reasons to be bias. On the contrary, I would have grounds to hate the police. However, the ineptitude of a few should not blind me, us to the goodness of so many.


The moral of our officers is already low. It was low before they had to face the recent events. And it does not need to fall any lower. I wonder if those riots should not be used as a new beginning for our Society and its relationship with its Police Officers. The time has come for offenders to fear the Police and the punishments that result in coming to contact with Officers. And the Police need our backing, not the offenders. Wasn’t it Sir Robert Peel, the Founder of the Met Police who once said “The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence”. Police officers need us in their efforts to keep the peace. And in my opinion, the best way we can help is by demanding and backing tough punishments on all rioters (so future offenders will think twice before ravaging our communities with all sort of crimes) and a better deal for the victims of crimes (so if you do fall victim of a crime, your Human Rights and dignity will come before those of criminals). Again quoting the great Mr Peel “No minister ever stood, or could stand, against public opinion”, I guess it is down to us to make sure we put in powers those who will instil fear in criminals. I think I can’t get over the closing down our Forensic Science Service (for those of you who watch TV that is the CSI type of people) by the Government on money ground while MPs and other government officials are still enjoying some nice perks.


As I stated at the start of this article, I do fear that our determination might be fading away in a near future. I hope it does no. However if it does, it is the victims of crimes (present and future) that we would be letting down. We should have neither sympathy nor compassion for offenders. This might sound like a strong statement but I still remember the day I had to face this lovely couple who came to my police station in order to confirm if some recovered items of jewellery were theirs or not. They had suffered a house burglar and were really hoping for the best (despite promising me they were not). Our sympathy and compassion should lie with this couple and fellow victims; and never with the person who forgets their human responsibilities but demands their human rights when it suits them. For six years, neighbourhood watch members asked me what they should do with their neighbourhood watch schemes, how they could truly help, truly make a difference. I gave some good advice – seek to give information to the police that is “actionable” (i.e: good description of suspicious individuals or cars, dates and times..etc) and support your fellow watch members. In the light of the recent events, I wonder if the best advice might be to actively support organisations like Victim Support, The Sentencing Council or any other local groups which help victims of crimes. If as a society, we always keep in mind the interests of our victims first by default the offenders will come second.


We need to carry on demanding tough policing and justice so our future will simply be better and safer. While our officers are still busy conducting raids on offenders’ homes to recover stolen goods, viewing hours of CCTV and anything else they do, we need to make sure that when offenders get to Courts, they are sorry they have pushed it that far. The emergency has passed. We are now dealing with the aftermath and the clearing-up. So let not our collective determination to punish offenders lessens and let’s clear up our society of all its uncaring and unworthy individuals.

~ END ~
(Ps: thank you for reading )

CriCri
You have taken your time to publish article and I wonder now what you have in mind by having written it.

Personally I get your message, even if I am not fully in agreement with it.

The British police were at first slow to respond. When they did organise themselves, they quickly brought the situation under control.
I am loathe to enourage the British Police to act heavy handedly, they are perfectly capable of coping with rioters without resorting to even harsher methods.

As for the sentencing, well, to put a young criminal in with other criminals merely hardens the youngster into being a long term criminal.

The big test comes next year with the Olympic games.
Are they ready for a complete disruption of the normal ativities of the East End of London?
Can they guarantee the safety of visiters?
These questions need to be addressed and answered by the politicians as well as the forces of law and order.

Over the centuries it has been shown that the British State is perfectly capable of rallying round and bringing back order in times of stress. But the gap between the super rich and the destitute has become too wide.

There is undoubtedly an underlying cause for the spontaneous rioting which if not attended to will lay dormant until the next opportunity arises for it to erupt.

What was shocking on this occasion was the willingness of youth to committ arson and then to deliberately attack the fire brigade who had come to prevent the fire from spreading. Such behaviour is an indication that something is seriously wrong in the boroughs where the disorders took place. That sickness will not be cured just by heavy sentencing. A cure includes an acceptance that Government policies are failing in their purpose. For successive Government to have deliberately allowed London over decades to overflow with immigrants has been asking for trouble.

But who am I to speak - I, born in Brixton, ran away from London years ago.

Cricri
You piece needs editing - there are grammatical errors particularly in the use of capital letters. If you wrote this to clear your mind, fine, then leave it - but if it is to be submitted for some purpose then parts of it need correction.

Cricri
Looking back over your article with the vague thought of doing a critique on it I looked for clues as to the nature of the writer.


'Cricri' - is that pronounced: cre-cre, cry-cry or crickry.
Strange what does it mean?
"It must be a woman"

'A small village in Bedfordshire' - "must be on the edge of the county, most of Beds is Luton - multi racial, industrial, airport, Vauxhall, bricks"

'Essay' - "not piece, article, discussion,post, thread" - "maybe it is for a writing group?"

'recent riots in the UK? - "not London,Manchester, not Britain. not England rather the United Kingdom - and we certainly are not united".

'UK......forum' " 'OK' means more than 'I agree', but what?"
forum - small 'F' amongst all those capitals"

'and just sat on it' "sat' = left it in the computor, put it on a shelf, forgot it," But it did not mean 'did sit"

'I (am a) little nervous -" why? we guys don't eat new members - nor do we ever intend to offend - at least most of us don't".

'So, gonna have' " - that is distinctly slang, not to be used in serious written prose - no no no- smack your wrist"

'Irish Whiskey' " odd, is that a woman's drink - maybe Cricri is a fella??? And the correct use of the 'e'. Who drinks Irish when there is Scotch?"

'a tad long' "back to this slang again - a tad is an old fashioned very small air bottle but the writer would have to be British not German"

'Thank your for reading it' - "isn't that why we belong to the Forum?"

'entertain you' " no jokes, no singing. no poetry ??? entertain - wrong word try another"

Thoughts:

"Then the article has capital letters highlighted in blue and other capital letters were no caps should be used. mmmm Is she German????"

Is English a second language? - well I suppose if she/he is Irish but with 'tad' & 'gonna' she must be British and 'gonna' suggests southern English "


I shall have to ask. But to do a critique would take hours and what if she were Irish? Then I could not attempt it.


Cricri
Write more - you gave me some amusement and you made me think.
Thank you.

Dv

Good evening Divus,

Good manners cost nothing so even if we are here to read each other's work, wait.........here it comes : Thank you. Let's face it, a piece on policing/victims of crime is neither fashionable nor an pleasant read.

Ponder no more : I am French, living on the border with Herts and of feminine disposition (that is of sex, not views). Cricri means nothing apart from the nickname my father gave me.

Regarding my grammar, I am sorry I injured your beautiful language. For my defense, four friends (two of them are Doctors in their own fields) did read it and said nothing! They only said it was thought-provoking hence my reason for posting it. I guess founding this Forum and its members will be doing my English a world of good!


If you did not get my point - that the right of victims should come before those of offenders - I failed you as my reader....which means I failed the victims of crimes as well. Shame on me. Truly.

Divus, if you are prepared to write a critique/correction (on the grammar and all) than I would be most grateful. My email is frenchie_france@yahoo.co.uk

I am so glad to hear I made you think. It is a very nice thing to say. I have other pieces ready but maybe I should wait to hear what other members have to say about this one. I need to learn. Plus, they probably have some stuff to post themselves so it's their turn

Again, thank you DV.
My best,
C

Cricri - I am dumbfounded. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that your first language is French. I had half wondered if you were German - coming from up near Schleswig Holstein where the locals often speak English without much accent but French?? MMMM. Well done.
My brother lives in France as do many of my friends. We nearly went to retire in Normandy. We have visited most of France.

But your written English is excellent. I wonder if I could detect a French accent in your spoken English?
You must have been living over here a long time.

To a long term student of English and a come lately writer, the variable use of the language never ceases to amaze. Your being French born should influence how you choose to speak and your style of writing. I shall look to see if I can spot that influence.

As for rioting:
In last Saturday's Telegraph there is a long article about how social workers (for want of a better word) have sought to discourage youth from joining gangs. It is
worth a read if you can locate a copy. My fear as a retiree is that we Brits drift towards a very violent gang culture similar to that which exists in New York. and California. If the Olympic games go wrong and we must remember that Tottenham is just a mile or two up the road from the Olympic site in Stratford,
then the authorities in Westminster will crack down hard. The police will be encouraged to meet the rioters with harsh violence. The security forces will be told to use the facilities which they already possess for the 'fight against terrorism' but this time to spy on the youth of today.
This is sad, because it is our failure as a British society which has herded the dispossessed towards the gang masters. The politicians have got it wrong.

There is no equvalent of the Gendarmerie in Britain. The same police catch speeding motorists, they chase burglars, they lock up drunks on a Friday night and they are told to hold the line against strikers and demonstrators. Generally speaking they will walk about without a firearm for protection.

However the expertise learned in Northern Ireland on how to control violent rioting lies well documented in the files of the Home Office waiting to be applied to mainland Britain. If that happened then we would have created our own Guardia Civil. Remember during this latest outbreak of rioting, there was even a call from segments of a frightened society for the army to be called in.

No, there must be another way and it is in the interest of all layers of society to find it. I want to feel that I can approach a 'copper' and ask him the way.
I want modern 'bobbies' to be like my Dad once was in a very different era. I do not want to be frightened of 'The Police'.

Dv

Cricri- you asked for a critique which I started to produce until I realised that I had an insurmountable problem in that I do not think as you do and for good reason.

Quote:
For the sake of (the) victims, our (call for) determination for tough policing and (harsh) justice must not lessen (????)Archaic word).

It is now (has been) a few weeks since the recent riots came to an en., (They left) leaving our (the) nation in shock but (at the same time) determined to make those responsible for the carnage pay for their crimes. However, having (after I had)watched the news channels and (I had) read various national newspapers, my fears are slowly started to creep up my spine. and (too many unrelated participles)

The fears are two-fold:
1) Is our(the) determination to punish offenders beginning to fade?
2) Are the Police going to be criticised, O(or bear the brunt – physically, financially or emotionally? If so, before it starts, can I ask anyone to ponder on the following question?

DV rewrites thus:

1/ Is the determination to punish offenders beginning to fade?
2/ Will the police be criticised and take much of the blame for the events.
If that might be the case may I ask everyone to ponder on the following question:
Have you ever wondered about the essence of policing as I have done?.
UNQUOTE

Comments:
Much of what has been written by you will work in spoken English and that for me becomes the fundamental issue I have about this article. The piece is written as recorded speech not as formal prose. Yet an article destined for review by a writing forum comprised of erudite readers should probably have been written in more formal language in order to give the words and the point of view of the author more intellectual weight.

The ‘it’s’ The phrases, the unobstructed sentences, the indicators of sign language are not appropriate for the article .
The use of ‘?’s, presumably to suggest raised eyebrows is not appropriate.
The use of ’our’ instead of ’the’ , somehow does not sound right.
The use of capital letters for nouns such as ’M’anuscript is a Germanic practice.
Plus there is the overall rhetorical style of writing - which does not work for me.

After reading the first chapter I came to the conclusion that to critique it, I would have to re-write the piece but I could not do so because I did not have the same view on the matter as the writer, who, I later discovered, was French born and female

We British burned Joan at the stake.
We exiled Napoleon to a remote island in the Atlantic.
We British eat Rosbif whereas the French eat frogs and snails.

The French eat horse meat and they drive on the wrong side of the road.
They once had an illegitimate Duke whom we made into a King.
They feel we drive on the wrong side of the road.

If I hold these differing values, please explain how I could write a discussion piece as a French woman?

Nevertheless, how can I help this intelligent lady to write better English.
Firstly I suggest she buys an English grammar book. Much of the content would come as no surprise since she learned French grammar as a youngster. In English there are rules of formal grammar to follow in written prose and if she is to write in a formal style then she must follow those rules. An editor would be irritated by her work as it is currently presented.

However then arises the matter of style.
The English language has developed as a world wide means of communication. Spoken English comes in numerous forms. It can be patois, dialect, slang, of regional variation and will accompanied by facial expressions, sign language, body language, changes of tone in the voice, eye language, hand language - in other words, by non verbal communication in its many formats.

In plays and dialogue, spoken English will be recorded in writing and it is for rhe actor to translate those written words in order to better define their meaning.

For the English people any foreigner - namely a person whose first language is not ‘Queen’s’ English - can try to make himself understood and no criticism whatsoever will be held against those who make the effort to communicate. Generally speaking, the English are only too pleased not to have to speak a foreign language. However, when it comes to prose, which comes without the aids of non verbal communication, then the meaning of what has been written is purely determined by the spelling, the choice of words, the punctuation and compliance with the rules of English grammar.

In the past the language of diplomacy was French largely because English can so easily be misunderstood by those who feel they can speak the language but whose command of it is perhaps not as good as they might believe.

Cricri
Maybe I’ve gone too far. Olly and The Ox might take issue with what I have written as critique.
I would like to see you rewrite a paragraph of the piece in formal prose.
Dv

Hi, Christel/Cricri/Frenchie

Two words in English with quite different meanings are “moral” and “morale”. Twice you’ve used the first one where you meant the second.

I can assure you that it will be another blow to the moral of those officers who would have worked so hard to catch them.

The moral of our officers is already low.

The mistake is perhaps easy for you to make; possibly you pronounce “moral” the same way we pronounce “morale”. Might I suggest you look them both up in a good dictionary?


Now on to more serious stuff (in case you haven’t already figured it out, “stuff” in this context is a multi-purpose word meaning “things”, objects”, “bits and pieces”):

There may be only one way to bring about the type of change you advocate, and it isn’t by writing essays and posting them online. This is my suggestion: first, gather together as many individuals as possible, who think as you do, that change is necessary. Next, reach consensus or agreement amongst yourselves on how that change is to be effected. And then find a politician who will firstly champion your group cause in the House of Commons (one way we do it here is to introduce a private member's bill) and secondly keep after the Government until legislation pertaining to that cause is both effected and written into law.

Finally, some idle curiosity: are you or were you once a serving police officer?

I still remember the day I had to face this lovely couple who came to my police station

Dear Divus and Sir Ox,

Thank you. Thank you. I shall write one post to answer you both....I hope you are ok sharing a post?

Sir Ox: yours being shorter, I shall start with you.
- Moral, without the "e": you are untitled to preach it to me! I cannot believe I made that mistake! Indeed I meant morale. And yes, in French and in that context, it would have been moral without the "e".
- Nope, not a serving or ex-serving officer. I was a Civilian working for a Force.
- I am French and was made redundant from the Police. The system which we are talking about is British. I feel it is for the Brits to fight it. I loved serving in the British Force but i don't think it is my place to advocate a change......especially if my English is not yet up to standard.

Divus,
You obviously took your time to write your answers to me. I want to take the time to digest both of them. The family is now demanding that I get ready to enjoy the sun so I must dash! But I will get back to you. Divus, thank you ( I keep saying that but I do mean it).

Gentlemen, enjoy your day.
My best,
C

Cricri
Doing a critique should be a benefit to both critic and author.
I have had my benefit.

I hope that you will have time to read and comprehend what I have written.

Dv

Good evening Divus,

I shall take no issue with what you wrote. If a person doesn't want their work to be criticised, they shouldn't post it on the Forum. Simple.

I didn't want my piece/essay to be formal. This was my conversation with you, my reader. I wanted to engage your mind to think differently about policing hence my rhetorical style. So putting the style aside, there is the question of the grammar. If it was so bad as to stop you enjoying the read than yes, it was a bad piece of writing so shame of me. However you did say that my written English was excellent so I am guessing it wasn't too bad. No? (And yes, I still have my French accent). I like the exercise you gave me : re-writing a paragraph (or two) in formal English. I shall do it and post it for your attention.

Reg all the police questions you have,
As I said, I wasn't an officer so I wouldn't like to comment on elements of your questions that would require the knowledge of an officer - preferably a ranked officer. Before I finished with Herts Constabulary, they had a Superintendent (and/or) an Assistant Chief Constable in charge of the Olympic and Public Order (riots). They were Super Hawkins and ACC Devine. They are probably your best option for any questions. Also, the Met Police has a website for the Olympic: in google type "olympic team in the Met Police ( or in Hertfordshire Constabulary) and you will get the names of those in charge.

Have a good evening,
C