Thaindian News

London, Aug 3 (IANS) Many young people in Britain believe there could be a repeat this year of the riots of 2011 as the worsening employment conditions that contributed to the disorder remain unchanged, a survey has found.

The killing of drug dealer and gangster Mark Duggan by police officers triggered the riots in London and other major cities - Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Salford, Nottingham, Bristol, Leeds - and continued for five days and nights.

Five people died, 4,000 were arrested, and many shops, flats and businesses were destroyed. The damage was worth more than 200 million pounds, The Independent said.

According to Sky News, a poll commissioned by StreetChance and Barclays Spaces for Sports found that more than one in four among 12 to 18-year-olds believe there could be more violence this summer.

More than half of those questioned said the riots spread because young people were copying what others were doing and more than a third (37.5 percent) said youngsters got involved so they could boast to friends.

A total of 36.6 percent thought boredom among young people was a cause, with a fifth - 20.4 percent - saying there was concern about their futures and jealousy of other people’s money and possessions.

Among those who predicted there could be a repeat of the violence, the main reason given was that many young people believe their chances of getting a job have either not improved or worsened.

Though youth unemployment fell by 29,000 in the first three months of 2012, around 1.01 million 16 to 24-year-olds are still without employment.

A total of 37.9 percent do not believe the government has done enough to address the needs of the younger generation, while 35.7 percent said the gap between rich and poor has either widened or stayed the same.

Many of those questioned for the poll criticised the role of the police.

Of the more than 13 percent that said police were a cause of the violence, two-fifths (40.3 percent) said it was because police are seen as racist by young people.

A Home Affairs Select Committee report published in December said police were too slow to react to the disorder and the perception that they had lost control encouraged the spread of the violence.