“Verdict on riots: people need a 'stake in society’,” headlines the Guardian, following the publication of a report on the social unrest of August 2011.
According to the Riots Communities and Victims Panel, an independent body set up by the government -
… the riots were fuelled by a range of factors including a lack of opportunities for young people, poor parenting, a failure of the justice system to rehabilitate offenders, materialism and suspicion of the police.
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The riots were triggered by the death in Tottenham, North London, of local man Mark Duggan, shot dead by police on 4 August. Between August 6 and 10 August, rioting spread to several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England. For the panel, "The key to avoiding future riots is to have communities that work," the Guardian writes, adding that -
Recommendations include fines for schools that fail to teach children to read properly; earlier and better support for troubled families; a "youth job promise" to get more young people into work; and primary and secondary schools to "undertake regular assessments of pupils' strength of character".
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