Recently, there have been fresh waves of accusations levelled at police institutionalised racism after the summer riots and the Stephen Lawrence case but a new report published this week on the 2011 summer riots suggests that it is society that needs to be changed, or rather being given a "stake" in it.
The summer riots, supposedly triggered by the murder of Mark Duggan or perhaps against society in general has prompted an independent report to recommend greater oppourtunities for disadvantaged people, better criminal rehabilitation and improve police-public relations. But as Nirpal Dhaliwal argues, is this all there is to it? Is this really just a case of rich whites vs. poor blacks? This week there were three convictions for the shooting of the five-year old girl, Thrusha Kamaleswaran in the spine, causing paralysis. This did not elicit the rage that Duggan's murder did. It wasn't murder, she wasn't part of an infamous gang. What is the difference? The fact that the crime occured within the black community, was not a product of police brutaltity?
If disallusionment at the lack of oppurtunities in society are the main problem - does it really matter if you're black or white?
