In July 1981, the inner-city district of

Moss Side Moss Side is an inner-city area of Manchester, England, south of the city centre, It had a population of 20,745 at the 2021 census. Moss Side is bounded by Hulme to the north, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Rusholme and Fallowfield to the east, W ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, England, was the scene of mass

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

ing. The protests at Moss Side started at the local police station and later moved into the surrounding streets over two days. Key factors seen as fuel for this protest were

racial tension An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positio ...

, due to frequent allegations of police officers racially abusing and using excessive force against black youths in the area,Manchester Evening News - Moss Side Riots 25 Years On
and mass unemployment brought on by the

early 1980s recession The early 1980s recession was a severe economic recession that affected much of the world between approximately the start of 1980 and 1983. It is widely considered to have been the most severe recession since World War II. A key event leading to ...

. Unemployment was at a post-war high across the nation during 1981, but was much higher than the national average in Moss Side.

Initial riot and police response

On 8 July 1981, a crowd of more than 1,000 youths besieged the police station at Moss Side, Manchester. All windows in the building were broken, and twelve police vehicles were set on fire. Police reinforcements equipped with riot shields and protective crash helmets were deployed around the station. A second attempt was made by crowds to attack the police station and during this a policeman was shot with a

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar ...

bolt through his leg.

Community meeting

Following the violence, Chief Constable

James Anderton Sir Cyril James Anderton (24 May 1932 – 5 May 2022) was a British police officer who served as chief constable of Greater Manchester from 1976 to 1991. Early life and career Born and brought up in a coal mining family in Wigan, Lancashire ...

of Greater Manchester met with local community leaders including

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s, churchmen and

youth worker A Youth worker is a person that works with young people to facilitate their personal, social and educational development through informal education, care (e.g. preventive) or leisure approaches. All types of educative approaches are not ethical f ...

s. Agreements made in this meeting were later disputed. James Anderton stated in his official report about the riots that per request from the community leaders, he ordered his officers to maintain a low profile and avoid further confrontations, to allow the leaders time to ease tension among the young people and disperse the crowds. The community leaders that attended the meeting denied that they had demanded that police withdraw from Moss Side. Anderton later told the Greater Manchester Police Committee that the community leaders had failed to deliver on their promise to restore peace and were simply unable to admit their lack of influence over the people engaged in the rioting.

Stopping the riot

The "low profile" approach of

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

(GMP) and the efforts of the community leaders failed to stop the protests which lasted for some 48 hours over two nights, with much burning and looting of shops all the way down Princess Road, Claremont Road and the surrounding areas, including

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, England, two miles south of the city centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north, Victoria Park and Longsight to the east, F ...

. The Moss Side protests ended on the night of 11 July, when Anderton ordered his officers to advance and clear the streets of protesters in a massive show of force. James Anderton had used the previous two days to build up enough officers trained and equipped in public order tactics. A mobile task force of 560 officers in 50 transit vans and

Land Rovers Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers i ...

had been assembled in local police stations around the area of protests. As part of the planned dispersal operation, Anderton authorized use of vehicle based rapid dispersal tactics; previously only used by the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Roya ...

(RUC) and the British Army in Northern Ireland. These tactics involved vehicles containing "

snatch squad The term "snatch squad" refers to two tactics used by police in riot control and crowd control. In riot control The snatch squad in riot control involves several police officers, usually wearing protective riot gear, rushing forwards—occasionally ...

s" being driven at high speed into groups of protesters, with officers then leaping out to make arrests. Over two hours, 150 people were arrested with no police injuries reported. Afterwards, the Moss Side section of Princess Road (a main road south from Manchester centre) was closed for several days while adjacent buildings and gas mains damaged in the riot and fires were made safe. It has been reported that Anderton had earlier given a speech to the assembled officers at Moss Side Police Station encouraging them to restore order as rapidly as possible and promising them his full support in the event of any complaints of excessive force. Anti-racism campaigner Louise Da-Cocodia helped transport victims of the Moss Side protest to hospital, and later sat on the Hytner inquiry panel investigating the causes of the unrest.

Conclusion and response

The police response to the riot resulted in a new low in confidence in the police in the local area. The absence of police during the looting on Princess Road followed by a large-scale police response afterward which resulted in the assault and arrest of innocent people, including a local reggae band, drew criticism. Among others, a local community organiser looking to help the injured was stopped and verbally abused by police. County councillor and vice-chair of the police Gabrielle Cox described the events as "the death of the community". After the riots there were allegations from local residents, community leaders and lawyers that groups of police officers in vans had been observed cruising the streets of Moss Side during the riots, racially abusing and using indiscriminate violence against any young people seen on the streets. Interviewed in a 1992 BBC documentary on his career following his retirement as Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, James Anderton described his strategy during the Moss Side riots: Outside of the affected area, Anderton's handling of riots received praise from the wider media, politicians, and public. The use of snatch squads and vehicles to disperse rioters was unique in British public order policing at that time, and the response of Greater Manchester Police was contrasted favourably with the perceived loss of control and high police casualties during the earlier Toxteth riots.

William Whitelaw William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, (28 June 1918 – 1 July 1999) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary from 1979 to 1983 and as ''de fac ...

, the Home Secretary, described the dispersal operation as a "conspicuous success". James Anderton's Greater Manchester Police were the only police force in England at that time equipped with protective riot helmets with visors for use by its officers in public situations. This was unlike the Metropolitan Police in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th cent ...

, and the Merseyside police in

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill. The area ...

, who sent their officers to face petrol bombs and missile attacks in traditional helmets and tunics. In a 2006 retrospective on the 25th anniversary of the riots, Manchester Central's Chief Supt Dave Thompson said that the police had simply not met the needs of the community. Academic Gus John said that "police used to criminalise young people for no good reason", and that the community saw the hypocrisy of certain officers who stopped and searched youths in Moss Side while on duty but drank and smoked at the area's illegal

shebeen A shebeen ( ga, síbín) was originally an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages were sold without a licence. The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, the ...

s while off-duty. In 1998 during the Lawrence Review Chief Constable

David Wilmot David Wilmot (January 20, 1814 – March 16, 1868) was an American politician and judge. He served as Representative and a Senator for Pennsylvania and as a judge of the Court of Claims. He is best known for being the prime sponsor and ep ...

of the

stated that there was

institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...

in the force. Anderton declined to comment on the 25th anniversary review. In the long term, investment totalling £400 million into the community improved conditions in the area. This particularly focused on the Alexandra Park Estate, which had been at the centre of the riots. The estate had poor housing and was a focal point for drug dealing in Manchester.Moss Side riots: How investment in housing and education is helping change lives
''Manchester Evening News'' (2013-01-18). Retrieved 2020-07-04. In 2005 Chief Constable Michael Todd established a community-centred policing structure for Moss Side, consisting of dedicated staff of an inspector, four sergeants and 35 constables.

References

External links