David Cameron called Sunday for “zero tolerance” for the gangs after riots in Britain, but is facing discontent from police, which is challenging the recruiting of a New York agent to help Scotland Yard.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Cameron believes that the riots that hit several towns in the country between August 6 and Tuesday night, the most violent in decades, marks a defining moment.
“We didn’t promote zero tolerance. But the message is about to be passed on”, he explained.
In applying these principles, the Government decided to appeal to an American agent, specialist in the fight against gangs, considering that they played a major role in the riots.
Bill Bratton, former police chief of New York, Boston and Los Angeles, the scene of bloody riots in 1992, will work this fall as a consultant to Scotland Yard in the fight against urban violence.
But this recruitment has generated many complaints to the police, several of its representatives stating in public that they were surprised by this decision.
“I’m not sure I will learn how to manage gangs by inspiring from region of the United States where 400 gangs are acting”, said Hugh Orde, head of the body of police officers. “If you have 400 gangs in activity, it means that you are not very effective.”
“Even though Bill Bratton has brilliant recommendations in the U.S., police style differs from ours”, said Saturday Jon Tully, head of the London Police Federation.
Cameron’s criticism regarding the methods used by British police, visibly overwhelmed at the start of the riots, have already generated friction in recent days. Especially since the government refuses to reconsider the budget cuts that will affect police.
“Initially, police treated the situation as it was just a matter of public policy, while it was crime”, said Prime-minister.
Faced with these criticism, the current interim director of Scotland Yard, Tim Godwin, complained of policies “incoherence”. “Sometimes we are accused of using excessive force, sometimes we do not do enough”, he said, rejecting the ” unfounded ” idea of that the police had been too timid.
This mood was excluded by the Interior Minister Theresa May, who stressed that the Government should tell the police “what is expected of them”.
Massive mobilization of forces starting on Tuesday managed to end the unrest. Wednesday evening, no major incident was reported in the country. The government planned to meet to decide whether to maintain the exceptional security device in force.
To end the riots, police arrests multiplied, reaching over 2,100. She estimated that about 3,000 people will be brought to justice.
Among these, there are two suspects indicted for the death of three men, hit by a car this week while trying to protect their neighborhood from thieves, in Birmingham. A peaceful demonstration in memory of the victims was to take place on Sunday in the city.
According to a survey released by Sunday Express, 70 percent of Britons are in favor of suspension of social aid for parents’ aggressors. The government also wants that they do not have access to social housing.
Faced with this rhetoric, a deputy member of the Liberal Democrats, partner in the ruling coalition, Simon Hughes, has released a warning against “simplistic solutions”.