The 2011 Riots in London and other parts of Britain defy easy categorisation. 'The Riots - In Their Own Words' (BBC2) looked at the events of last August through the eyes of rioters, police and some clergy. The programme was a result of a joint research project between the LSE and The Guardian and the rigour behind the investigation was evident from the start. The two-parter started with the rioters; what happened, what was their motivation and what were the consequences. The motivations were several; some saw this as 'political' - wanting to protest after the death of Mark Duggan, others saw an opportunity for looting while another group just got caught up in the madness of crowds. The scale of the rioting was astonishing and for a few days in August 2011, law and order appeared to have collapsed in many parts of London. The consequences for many were severe - the courts handed down exemplary custodial sentences 'pour encourager les autres'. All the rioters were played by actors, who were so convincing that 'thetvreviewguy' thought he was looking at the real people. The testimonies from the Police were no less dramatic; all had never faced public disorder on such a scale before and many expressed fear for their safety. The decision not to deploy rubber bullets was probably the right one; Northern Ireland residents may have looked at this ironically, to say the least (alright for one part of the UK, not for another). 'The Riots - In Their Own Words' never sought to give pat answers or take a particular slant; it was an intelligent, thoughtful and important piece of work that left the viewer either confirmed in their prejudices or asking themselves more questions about what happened in August 2011.
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