They have no idea what to do with them. I saw one group of riot police heading towards rioters and ordering them to "disperse", as though they were a group of nineteenth-century rebels trying to storm Parliament. Of course, the rioters had already done their looting and wanted nothing better than to "disperse" each to his or her council flat, with all the stuff they'd stolen. The police are as clueless as Alicia Silverstone and not nearly as nice.
Cameron's stupid fucking government ruled out using water cannons or tear gas, yet Cameron insists they'll take all necessary measures. He needs to make up his mind. Because of wimp policing, these thugs don't respect law and order. This is a massive attack on society and indeed civiization, and it needs to be confronted.
I would not use gas or water cannon - the effect is the same. Those are weapons for crowds that intend to storm Parliament or some specific political target. These are just hordest of thieves. You do them a favour by letting them get away. The best thing the police could do would be to surround them, keep them in one place and sqeeze them tighter and tighter - a variant on "kettling". But you may remember that there was an outcry against it a few months ago and the police had to promise to reconsider its use. Plus, at present Scotland Yard is leaderless thanks to the Murdoch scandal, so even if anyone saw the right path, they might not have the authority to follow it AND to defend it from the inevitable critics.
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rosecarmine
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Date: 2011-08-10 04:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-10 05:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-10 07:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-10 08:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-10 11:56 pm (UTC)