The Scarman report was commissioned by the UK Government following the 1981 Brixton riots.

Lord Scarman Leslie George Scarman, Baron Scarman, (29 July 1911 – 8 December 2004) was an English judge and barrister, who served as a Law Lord until his retirement in 1986. Early life and education Scarman was born in Streatham but grew up on the b ...

was appointed by then Home Secretary William Whitelaw on 14 April 1981 (two days after the rioting ended) to hold the enquiry into the riots. The Scarman report was published on 25 November 1981. The terms of reference for the enquiry were "to inquire urgently into the serious disorder in Brixton on 10–12 April 1981 and to report, with the power to make recommendations".

1981 Brixton riot

The

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

took place in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th cent ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 11 April 1981. At the time when Brixton underwent deep social and economic problems — high

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refe ...

, high

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

, poor housing, no amenities — in a predominantly African-Caribbean community. The

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

began ''Operation Swamp 81'' at the beginning of April, aimed at reducing

street crime Street crime is a loose term for any criminal offense in a public place. The difference between street crime and white-collar crime is that street crime is often violence that occurs in a public area whereas white-collar crime is non-violent crim ...

, mainly through the heavy use of the so-called

sus law In England and Wales, the sus law (from "suspected person") was a stop and search law that permitted a police officer to stop, search and potentially arrest people on suspicion of them being in breach of section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824. Ac ...

, which allowed police to stop and search (and ultimately jail) individuals on the basis of a mere 'suspicion' of wrongdoing. Plain clothes police officers were dispatched into Brixton, and in five days almost 1,000 people were stopped and searched. The riot resulted in 299 injuries to police and 65 injuries to members of the public; over a hundred vehicles were burned, including 56 police vehicles; and almost 150 buildings were damaged, with 28 burned. There were 82 arrests. Reports suggested that up to 5,000 people were involved in the riot.

Evidence

As part of the inquiry the following individuals and groups gave evidence: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (Counsel - Mr J Hazan QC and Mr L Marshall Concern), the Council for Community Relations of Lambeth,

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazier S ...

, Brixton local community groups and clubs, the

Brixton Legal Defence Group Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

, and the Commission for Racial Equality.

Findings and recommendations

According to the Scarman report, the riots were a spontaneous outburst of built-up resentment sparked by particular incidents. Lord Scarman stated that "complex political, social and economic factors" created a "disposition towards violent protest". The Scarman report highlighted problems of racial disadvantage and

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

decline, warning that "urgent action" was needed to prevent racial disadvantage becoming an "endemic, ineradicable disease threatening the very survival of our society". Scarman found unquestionable evidence of the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of 'stop and search' powers by the police against black people. The report details the use of arbitrary roadblocks, the stopping and searching of pedestrians and mass detention (943 stops, 118 arrests and 75 charges). ''Operation Swamp 81'' was conducted by the police without any consultation with the community or the home-beat officers. Liaison arrangements between police, community and local authority had collapsed before the riots and according to the Scarman report, the local community mistrusted the police and their methods of policing. Scarman recommended changes in training and law enforcement, and the recruitment of more ethnic minorities into the police force. According to the report "

institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...

" did not exist, but positive discrimination to tackle racial disadvantage was "a price worth paying".

Reception

The theme of the Scarman report was broadly welcomed, accepted and endorsed by politicians, police commissioners, the press and community relations officials. Some of the report's recommendations were implemented. "Hard policing" continued and new measures were taken to create greater public trust and confidence in official institutions. Multi-agency and "soft" policing emerged through community consultation, youth and "race relations" services. However, in 1999, the Macpherson Report stated that many of the Scarman report recommendations had been ignored and that, in fact, the Metropolitan Police was "institutionally racist". The Scarman report pushed the issue of law and order, and specifically policing, onto the mainstream agenda. The debate in the House of Parliament to mark the publication of the Scarman report on the 26 November 1981 had as its theme "law and order" and the then leader of the Liberal Party,

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...

, argued that "urgent action" to prevent a drift into lawlessness was necessary. A subsequent debate in March 1982 referenced the events of 1981 and focused on the impact of street violence, crime, decaying urban conditions, and the danger of "more violence to come" if changes in both police tactics and social policy were not swiftly introduced. While both the Conservative and Labour speakers in the parliamentary debate on the riots accepted the need to support the police, substantial disagreement centred on the issue of what role social deprivation and unemployment had in bringing young people to protest violently on the streets. As a consequence of the Scarman report a new code for police behaviour was put forward in the ''

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) (1984 c. 60) is an Act of Parliament which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in England and Wales to combat crime, and provided codes of practice for the exercise ...

''; and the act also created an independent Police Complaints Authority, established in 1985, to attempt to restore public confidence in the police.

"Community relations" and "institutional racism"

Scarman reported a shift from a concern about "

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in th ...

" to "

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

relations". According to Paul Rich, Lord Scarman's views expressed in the Scarman report most closely resembled that of the mid-

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

. Scarman was concerned with the "plight" of the ethnic communities in UK inner cities and their relationship with the rest of the national "community". He concluded that it was essential that "people are encouraged to secure a stake in, feel a pride in, and have a sense of responsibility for their own area". While the importance of community involvement in policing was recognised, the Scarman report pointed to "community redevelopment and planning" as the main area of concern. Scarman called for a policy of "direct coordinated attack on racial disadvantage". The Scarman report sought to locate the riots in the social, economic and political context of the acute deprivation in

at the time. Lord Scarman identified the causes of the riots in the pathology of the Caribbean family, in the question of bilingualism amongst Asian children and in the undefined problem of policing a multi-racial society. In doing so Scarman highlighted what Robert Beckford has termed a "pathological image of Black youth". According to the report:

"Without close parental support, with no job to go to, and with few recreational facilities available the young Black person makes his life the streets and the seedy, commercially-run clubs of Brixton. There he meets criminals, who appear to have no difficulty obtaining the benefits of a materialist society."

The Scarman report does not apportion blame to the police. While the report acknowledges that "ill considered, immature and racially prejudiced actions of some officers" contributed to the riots Lord Scarman only acknowledges "unwitting discrimination against Black people". The report concludes that "The allegation that the police are the oppressive arm of a racist state not only display a complete ignorance of the constitutional arrangements of controlling the police, it is an injustice to the senior officers of the force." In his recommendations Scarman accepts that "hard" policing, such as stop and search operations, would be necessary in the future in areas characterised by severe social problems. Hence the Scarman report seeks to establish how policing could be enforced without provoking further outbreaks of disorder.

Inquiry staff

; *

Philip Mawer Sir Philip John Courtney Mawer (born 30 July 1947) is a former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards who was in the post from 2002 until 2008 when he became an independent advisor on Ministerial standards to Gordon Brown. He was previously Se ...

(Secretary) * Nicholas Montgomery Pott (Assistant Secretary) * Ted McCormick and Melissa Grant ( UK Home Office) * Robin Auld QC, Mr JGM Laws and Mr L Crawford (Counsel for the Inquiry)

1981 Brixton riot

Evidence

Findings and recommendations

Reception

"Community relations" and "institutional racism"

Inquiry staff

See also

References

Further reading