RECENT RIOTS IN UK: AN UNFORESEEN EVENT OR A SLOW DEATH OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY

12/08/2011

A friend of mine is in UK at present. He came from India last month to see family and friends. He is going back in a couple of weeks. He was very impressed with general orderliness prevalent in this country. He was particularly praising the educational opportunities present for the young people here. The Recent rioting, violence and looting in many parts of the country was a real shock to him. He could not imagine these things happening here. He always thought British society being very cultivated and having good civic sense. Of course, his views are comparative and he can be forgiven for thinking that way.

For most of the common people living in UK, it was not such a surprise. It was a disaster waiting to happen.  But the funny thing is that many of the officials who are responsible to prevent and to deal with such events also thought like my friend.

Our atavistic herd mentality, a strong desire to belong to a group with common interests surfaces from time to time breaking our highly individualistic modern life style; may it be looting and vandalising or creating and caring, throwing stones on police or shouting and screaming at/with the pop stars.  An event happens and an opportunity to form a herd is created. What the herd will do depends on type of opportunity present and the inclination of a certain number (threshold fraction) of individuals in the herd.   The number of people in that initial group comprises of a tiny minority but it works like a nidus or catalyst. When it reaches a certain mass, a chain reaction starts and inhibitions of the majority of the individuals in the herd is overcome. The result could a disaster and devastation or relief and creation depending on the nature or motive of the individuals in the nidus. All societies bar none have some very bad and some very good individuals (a Bell curve). In a mob which of these groups forms the nidus first, determines the behaviour and further course of the mob: violent looting or peaceful demonstration.

It is impossible to predict which course the mob will take and hence impossible to plan with limited resources the law enforcement agencies have. If the police are very strict and present in large numbers, the bad individuals are deterred from forming the initial nidus and a peaceful demonstration results. You would think that in this scenario, everybody ought to praise the law and order agencies, but the reality is just the opposite. Both the Police and the Government are criticized by the media, politicians, human right activists and many other opportunistic individuals and groups for using so much police power on peaceful demonstrators.

If the police are a bit soft and not visible in large numbers, the bad elements are encouraged and form the nidus first and the result is mayhem. Again, police is criticized for not being forceful and pre-emptive. 

How to square this circle? When a mob collects role of police should be to discourage the bad nidus from forming and facilitate the good nidus.

Effective intelligence is the only answer. The very good and very bad individuals are usually known in the community. Effective intelligence and good community relation are intertwined and law agencies have to be good at both.  I would even say that a good community relation would automatically result in effective intelligence. 

At present in many democratic countries, the government agencies have poor community relation. People do not feel that the govt is of the people, by the people and for the people. To effectively manage the law and order situation on a more permanent basis the government in general and the law agencies in particularly have to really work hard to improve community relation. And it can only be done by working with the local communities not by appointing expensive public relation firms which now seems to be the norm for all the government agencies. 

If a liberal democratic government feels the need for appointing a PR firm it is the beginning of the end.