Police cannot let the mob rule our streets
THE speed with which a raucous street party in South London turned into a ferocious mass assault on the police is a cautionary lesson for all chief constables.
They should ask themselves how what began as low-level disorder turned so quickly into anarchy, and why the rioters felt emboldened to attack officers.
And when looking to apportion blame, they might first glance in the mirror.
The truth is that the abrogation of basic policing principles by senior officers in recent weeks has corroded the authority of their men and women on the frontline – placing them in enormous danger.
In a series of demonstrations, they allowed protesters to deface and topple statues with impunity, standing by while serious criminal damage was carried out.
Some, notably the Chief Constable of Kent, ‘took a knee’ in sympathy with George Floyd, a man who died 4,000 miles away, to appease the Black Lives Matter movement.
Quite apart from having little or no relevance to British policing, this genuflection was a political act by leaders of a service that is meant to be scrupulously apolitical.
By turning a blind eye to lawbreaking, they sent out a signal to hooligans and those with an anti-police agenda that they were soft on vandalism and violent demonstration.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan reinforced this message in his craven indulgence of the demonstrators, who were of course flouting social distancing rules too.
Unless the police regain their authority, the shocking events of Wednesday night may well be repeated over what promises to be a long, hot summer after the frustrations of lockdown. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick must first ruthlessly hunt down those who brought mayhem to Brixton. Up to 30 officers were injured, yet only four arrests have been made. This is a travesty.
Crucially, police chiefs must stop playing politics. Their job is to protect the public and give maximum support to frontline officers. They cannot do that if they pander to lawbreakers instead of arresting them.