'This train of madness'

The “Riot Report” has been launched by Inside Housing, the CIH and NHF to investigate the lessons that can be learned from the recent riots. A good starting point could be the analysis in today’s Guardian on the sentencing of rioters. The vast majority of those charged so far are young and unemployed. 19% were aged under 18 and 54% were aged 18 to 24. Only 9% were women. The Guardian finds that sentences to date are around 25% tougher than for comparable offences in non-riot situations, although interestingly no one has yet been charged with the actual offence of riot. The Guardian report includes a spreadsheet that lists the home addresses of those charged. Housing providers would be well advised to check these against their own stock. Is it the case, as the tabloid press implies, that the rioters are overwhelmingly the product of social housing estates or is the picture more complex?

Over the past week there has also been a great deal of coverage of gang culture as an underlying factor in the riots. Prince Charles visited Hackney and Croydon and described gang membership as a “cry for help” and said that kids join gangs because they are lacking a framework to their lives. He is probably right, but as a sector we need to know if there is a correlation between gang membership and residence in social housing. Has anyone studied this?

Last week’s Observer carried a report on a 16 year old gang member called Joe who lives on a Hackney estate. Because of the threat of violence Joe rarely leaves his home turf, and this is one of the tragedies of gang membership: it may provide a sense of power and esteem, but it also limits the geographical and social horizons of its members and cuts off the “bridging” social capital that is so important in allowing young people to get ahead. Joe recognises the predicament he is in. He has a ten-year old brother and says, “I don’t let him go out late at night. He’s still in school and I don’t want him caught up in this train of madness”.

I think the “train of madness” is a suitable metaphor for all those who have embarked upon gang membership or who were swept up in the riots.

We all know that adolescents and young people are infinitely malleable; they seek excitement and adventure and they often make stupid choices. I know I did. In the post-riot world the challenge will be to reach out to kids like Joe and the others who have been convicted in the riots and steer them in a different direction. As I mentioned above, the overwhelming majority of those charged to date are young and unemployed. This means that housing providers will probably need to concentrate upon programmes that provide better alternatives for young people, not just training and employment opportunities, but programmes that widen their horizons with new experiences and activities. They will need to do this in partnership with organisations as diverse as the Army Cadets (tagline “Enjoy adrenaline and adventure?”) and the Prince’s Trust. But I think the first step is a cool analysis of the factors that led to the riots and an understanding of who the rioters are and where they came from. This includes an understanding of gangs and gang culture within social housing. Getting young people off “the train of madness” will be a major achievement.