Riot prevention in Chicago

The 2011 summer riots in Britain that began in London and then proliferated to other parts of the UK, most notably Birmingham and Manchester, came as a great surprise to most of the general public. For days rolling news brought us pictures of the armies of youths looting shops, attacking the police and causing general panic and misery. Social networks and mobile messaging mobilised hordes of youngsters, who took advantage of an overstretched London Met and vulnerable shopkeepers. The Government was quick to crackdown on the criminals, keeping Magistrates’ Courts open throughout the night to deal with hundreds of cases. Those found with stolen merchandise or inducing violence were given tough penal sentences; all condoned by an unforgiving general public. It did not end there; politicians, commentators and victims debated and gave their thoughts on what was to blame. Most on the Left blamed Government cuts, the Right blamed the welfare state and the general public blamed the parents; whilst the outspoken historian David Starkey blamed it on the ‘blackification’ of white youths. It inevitably led to the resignation of senior police officers and a report to what happened. These riots were the first on this scale in Britain for around 25 years and have led to questions of what is happening in some of our communities and what preventative measures can be put in place. On BBC Four on Sunday was an excellent documentary called ‘The Interrupters – How to stop a riot’ highlighting the work of Cease-fire, a public health group that aims to prevent gun violence on the streets of Chicago.

The communities in South Chicago have had to deal with the day-to-day issues of gang and gun violence for decades. From the same streets where Barack Obama worked as a community campaigner, gun violence in 2008 claimed more lives in Chicago than US service personnel serving in Iraq (509 to 314). For generations, communities live in a poverty trap, the cycle of poor schooling and few job opportunities lead most youngsters to seek alternative sources of income i.e. drugs, that inevitably leads to violent crime. A local funeral leader said that 90% of the funerals he had overseen involved young victims. These murders are often trivial and not gang-related involved inter-personal spats or random attacks, teenagers murdered by other teenagers. There is a code of death over dishonour, which may seem odd to outsiders, but in a community where life is lived day-to-day, gun crime is the norm, hopelessness exists as reality. It is not unusual for people to have lost over twenty friends to death, drugs or prison.

The Cease-fire project is similar to schemes ran in Boston and Los Angeles; its aim is to reduce gun-violence in the neighbourhoods. Using data and statistical models to cite hotspots, their team roams the streets and interrupts potential scuffles. In a society, where violence is the release valve, people are often reprimanded with their lives. The interrupters have seen it all before, they too have been a part of gang culture and have seen their own lives affected by violence, prison or drugs. They speak aggressively to get the point across and to educate those on the street. It is clear that in the heat of the moment, no one thinks rationally. Their mediation is there to make people stop and reflect. They may not be able to stop gang beef but it allows them to coexist and who knows, possibly become a community. In targeted areas they have seen a drop in gun violence between 40-45%. What is most important is that Cease-fire is operating in schools, educating a generation to understand that by taking someone’s life will only cost you yours in prison, they speak of their own experience and the malaise of taking such decisions.

Community leaders recognise that ending the violence is the pathway for a better future. It will serve to create better schools and will attract businesses to the area, creating jobs. What many of these people want but have never seen are flourishing neighbourhoods and lasting peace. The interrupters help rehabilitate people, in one scene we saw a boy, who had served time for armed robbery, confront and apologise to his victims, he went on to find a regular job at a nursery, not on the street. The partnership in Chicago isn’t unique, similar successful schemes have been rolled out across other US cities. In the UK, Strathclyde Police introduced data-based policing and social measures to tackle gang violence in Glasgow. Like Chicago, generations had grown up in neighbourhoods where unemployment, dependency and substance abuse was the norm. The success is highlighted in the decline in the crime stats. This has now become a blueprint for police forces around the UK.

Much work is still required but perhaps what is most vivid in these neighbourhoods are the unofficial memorials dotted around the city. The victims, who died in undignified circumstances, leave a vestige of their passing on every street corner. One can only hope that these will serve as reminders of how far the communities have come.

Old Firm: The Queen's eleven, maybe.

Despite the prospects of an independent Scotland and the hope its politicians desire, the decline of Scottish football is all too evident. Ten to fifteen years ago there was talk of allowing Glasgow Celtic and Rangers to play in the English Premier League. Both sides had terrific squads, stadium and support. Many believed they would be equals when it came to competing against England's best. Yet, the lack of prosperity and heavy debt burdens left many of Scotland's historically big clubs unable to compete financially against other European clubs and has seen a real decline in the quality of football.

Last week, the story that dominated the sporting headlines was the attempted nail bomb posted to Celtic manager Neil Lennon. Lennon, a Catholic from Northern Ireland is no stranger to controversy. He retired from international football after receiving death threats from Loyalist groups when he was captain of Northern Ireland. Recently he had graffiti laced upon the wall opposite his home calling for his death. (Unfortunately the artist wrote R.P.I instead of R.I.P – whether it was a reference to the Retail Price Index or dyslexia we’ll never know). Lennon is a character who courts animosity. He revealed in a recent interview that he got into a fight near his home in Glasgow with two medical students, whilst his girlfriend looked on. Something you may expect of youth players but not high profile managers.

Lennon took his seat yesterday in the final Old Firm fixture of the season in a match that takes precedence for the Scottish game. Yet since the Good Friday Agreement and general integration between Catholics and Protestants, do the whole religious undertones really mean anything anymore or does it breathe life into a league that appears banal compared to yesteryear?

Sectarian hate is nothing new, the game used to be a ceremony for fans to violently belittle each other. It was said that religion in Northern Ireland was something never mentioned on the street, yet the Celtic Rangers match was the occasion for exalting your religious bigotry. Songs about the IRA, the Queen and Bobby Sands were all too common. Mo Johnston, the first Catholic player to play for Rangers (or openly Catholic) had previously played for Celtic and made the sign of cross towards Rangers fans during a match (His dad was a Rangers fan and a Protestant). Graeme Souness had tried to sign Ian Rush, a Welsh Catholic, when he was manager in the late 1980s and Mark Hateley was viewed with suspicion from fans because he was married to a Catholic. It all seems quite pathetic now, but this was at a time of daily violence in the Ulster and perceived discrimination of Catholics in everyday society. The Rangers chairman David Murray saw introducing Catholics as a way of making money from sponsorship and investment.

Watching the match yesterday, particularly because of the Lennon incident, the atmosphere was boisterous as expected but it still lacked visible quality on the pitch. The tricolored Irish flag and the Union Jacks decorating the terraces (probably not in anticipation of the Royal Wedding), plus chants of ‘God Save the Queen’ did nothing to alleviate potential rest. No doubt Rangers fans thought the referee was a ‘Feinian’ after his dubious penalty decision. Yet there were few talking points otherwise in this humourless game.

Like most football derbies, there is history, as well as hate. The Easter Sunday clash marked 95 years since the ‘Easter Rising’ at the Dublin Post Office and the subsequent executions of those involved. For Real Madrid and Barcelona, there is the political battle of federalism and Catalonia. Ajax Amsterdam and Rotterdam’s Feyenoord clash over the difference between their cultural and industrial hearts. Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao in the Basque region of Spain both used to have transfer policies that did not permit the signing of non-Basque players, these have now been relaxed in recent years like the violence in that region. Football does move with the times, even England have a more continental outlook to the game than previously. It is the fan culture that loves to look back; it is the history that makes them and the club. Changing stadiums or signing players are important issues and nothing to be taken lightly. Arsenal fans voiced their disgust when the club issued a white away kit, colour of their rival's Tottenham. History is indicative of the future.

Perhaps the bellicose of yesterday’s match hides the decline of the Scottish game in general. Matches are worth winning, but they are definitely never worth dying for. Traditions are for keeping.