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Community Responses to Riots Explained

The document discusses the societal responses to riots, particularly focusing on the Watts riot of 1965, which resulted in significant casualties and property damage. It highlights the challenges faced by law enforcement and emergency services during such events, as well as the role of community organizations in mitigating violence. The text also explores factors that contribute to riot occurrences and the evolution of police tactics over time.

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7 views19 pages

Community Responses to Riots Explained

The document discusses the societal responses to riots, particularly focusing on the Watts riot of 1965, which resulted in significant casualties and property damage. It highlights the challenges faced by law enforcement and emergency services during such events, as well as the role of community organizations in mitigating violence. The text also explores factors that contribute to riot occurrences and the evolution of police tactics over time.

Uploaded by

drhgriffiths03
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Chapter Thirteen

Organizations, Community, and


Societal Response to Riots
Judge of a man by his questions
rather than by his answers.
-Voltaire
General Introduction
• In some nations, riots are routinely put
down with lethal force.
• Some governments respond to rioting by
suspending civil liberties and calling for
martial law.
• The Watts riot (1965) is typical of
American riots in that public officials were
unavailable, police had major
communication problems, and
consequently experienced difficulty in
effectively controlling the beginning of the
riot.
Watts riot: August 11-22, 1965
Riots begins when a CA highway patrol motorcycle
officer pulled over Marquette Frye, for DWI
because of his observed erratic driving.
However, in this part of town specially, traffic
stops were not so routine. While police
questioned Frye and his brother Ronald Frye, a
mob began to throw rocks and other objects and
shout at the officers. A struggle ensued shortly
after Frye's mother, Rena, arrived on the scene,
resulting in the arrest of all three family
members.
Continued
• As a result of the riots, 30 plus people were
officially reported killed (28 of those were
African-American), 1,032 people were injured,
and 4,000 people were arrested. Among the
dead were a fireman, an LA County deputy
sheriff and a Long Beach police officer. The
injured included approximately 773 civilians, 90
Los Angeles police officers, 136 firemen, 10
national guardsmen, and 23 persons from other
governmental agencies. 118 of those injured
were injured by firearms.
Continued
• 600 buildings were damaged or destroyed,
and an estimated $35 million in damage
was caused. Most of the physical damage
was confined to businesses that were said
to have caused resentment in the
neighborhood due to perceived unfairness.
Homes were not attacked, although some
caught fire due to proximity to other arson
fires.
Legal Definitions
“Riot” is similar in meaning to “mobs” “mob
action” “unlawful assembly” and “rout”

--A gathering of three or more people who


share a clear intention to do violence, to
terrorize, and to otherwise disturb the
peace to achieve their ends.
--Even legal protest can become a riot.
Continued
• Vigilantes and lynch mobs are groups of
people who unlawfully and violently
attempt to regulate behavior, fitting into the
legal definition of riot.
• Riot participants are those who remain at
the scene of a disorder, following an order
to disperse, although failure to actively
support riot or attempts to stop riot may
serve to prove innocence.
• Arrest does not prove participation.
Organizations and Riots
• Response to disasters and riots is very
similar.
• i.e., like expanding organization during a
disaster, police depts. undergo
organizational changes while attempting to
respond to riots.
• During the Watts riot, delay in police
presence due to inability to contact
officials made the riot worse.
Continued
• Watts was also worsened as fire
departments were overwhelmed with calls
and attacked on site.
• Hospitals were overwhelmed, and
ambulances unavailable.
• Bus and Taxis stopped, and when could
not use public transportation to get to
work, they had more time to behave badly,
prolonging the riot.
Emergent Organizations
• Very effective at solving both anticipated
and unanticipated problems.
• For example, family groups or community
groups were effective at rescuing and
transporting the wounded and locating the
missing.
• The National Advisory Commission on
Civil Disorders (1968) found that church
groups and youth gangs were effective
calming violence and protecting officials
during later stages of riots.
Escalated Force and
Crowd Control
• Escalated force principles of crowd
control are based on at least three
assumptions;
1. Police have lots of people to control
crowds.
2. Police can act as coordinated unit
3. Police can foresee the future

• See any problems?


Lohman,1947 six principles of
crowd control.
1. Removal or isolation of the individuals
involved in the precipitating incident
before the crowd has begun to achieve
substantial unity.
2. Interruption of communication during the
milling process by dividing the crowd into
smaller units.
3. Removal of crowd leaders, without
force
Continued
4. Distracting the attention of the crowd
from its focal point by creating
diversions.
5. Preventing the spread and reinforcement
of the crowd by isolating it.
6. Show of force.

Provoked more disorder


than it prevented!
Confrontation Management
• Rather than a show of force, demonstrate
“force in reserve”
• Maintain communication between officers
and civilians during disorder
• Police must communicate readiness to
respond without raising the level of conflict
(avoid “symbols of conflict”)
Communities, Riot Proneness
• Riots are not random occurrences
(Spilerman 1970).
• Major conclusion: “the larger the Negro
population, the greater the likelihood of
disorder. Little else seems to matter.”
• He suggested this was due to the growing
discontent among Black people in
America.
Differentiated View
McPhail (1971) suggests that several factors
increase the likelihood of riots within cities,
rather than looking at cities in which riots
occurred he looked at the riot are and
found that riots were more likely with:
• Mixed residential and commercial area
• Dense population, 80% Black or African-
American.
Societies and Riots
Restraining use of force
• The global stigma of having a poor human
rights record may prevent the use of force
• Agents of social control may refuse to act
(sympathy or reluctant to support regime)
• Force may make problem worse
• May cause escalation of rioters
• May cost too much
• Rioting group is popular or well-known.
Continued
• Your text suggests that reliance on harsh
and brutal riot control occurs most often
when neither side feels compelled to treat
the other side well (lack of normative
constraint--dehumanizing).
• Also when a long history of conflict exists
• Also when in regions isolated from public
view, with no media coverage.
Why have the number of US riots
decreased?
We still experience frustration and inequality
BUT
• Collective action is more institutionalized
• Police tactics changed (more training)
• Public Order technology improved
• LA riots, 1992—police caught short, lack
of communication—same circumstances
as Watts, similar result.

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