The Effect of the 2011 London Disorder on Public Opinion of Police and Attitudes Towards Crime, Disorder, and Sentencing

Abstract

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent AbstractHow did the 2011 London disorder affect Londoners? This article presents the findings from a study on the impact of the disorder on Londoners' attitudes towards the police, sentencing, crime and disorder, using Metropolitan Police Public Attitude Survey (METPAS) data from the weeks before and after the disorder. The findings suggest that while public confidence remained largely steady, confidence is lower (and already was lower prior to the disorder) in those areas of London what were hit hardest by the disorder. We also observe a substantial shift towards greater punitiveness and authoritarian viewpoints following the disorder.

A Spatiotemporal Bayesian Hierarchical Approach to Investigating Patterns of Confidence in the Police at the Neighborhood Level

“…The increase over the fourth quarter of 2012 (Q31) and the first quarter of 2013 (Q32) can be clearly seen. Examining the temporal trend we may also extend the findings of a net‐neutral effect of the 2011 London riots (Q26) on policing, due to the split in public opinion, (Hohl, Stanko, and Newburn ) to the neighborhood level.…”

“…This aligns with the findings of Stanko and further supports the MET confidence model. Additionally, we have extended the findings of a net neutral effect of the 2011 London riots on confidence in policing, due to the split in public opinion, (Hohl, Stanko, and Newburn ) to the neighborhood level. The inclusion of a spatiotemporal interaction term improved the fit of the model and allowed us to further examine the neighborhood variability.…”

“…Our examination of the spatial trends further supports the finding that confidence in the local police is related to neighborhood deprivation levels. Our examination of temporal trends suggests a possible lagged “Olympic effect” to be seen, whereby Londoners were more confident in the police after the successful policing of the 2012 London Olympic games Hohl, Stanko, and Newburn (). This aligns with the findings of Stanko and further supports the MET confidence model.…”

“…Public confidence in the police is a state in which the public regard the police as competent and capable of fulfilling their roles (Hohl, Stanko, and Newburn 2012). This includes engagement with the community, fair treatment, and effectiveness in dealing with crime and antisocial behavior (Hohl, Stanko, and Newburn 2012).…”

The 2011 English ‘Riots’: Prosecutorial Zeal and Judicial Abandon

“…Media commentary seemed polarised between those calling for the courts to 'send a message' to deter rioters; and shock at the severity of some of the sentences given for minor offences Doyle 2011). Whilst the public seemed to support an increase in sentences, they were less punitive than the courts (Hohl et al 2013;Roberts and Hough 2013).…”