1981 Brixton riot

1981 Brixton riot
Part of the 1981 England riots
Police with riot shields form a cordon across Atlantic Road at its junction with Coldharbour Lane, 11 April 1981
Date10–12 April 1981
Location
MethodsRioting, looting, arson
Casualties and losses
279 police officers injured
45 members of the public injured

The 1981 Brixton riot, or Brixton uprising,[1] was a series of clashes between mainly black youths and the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, London, between 10 and 12 April 1981.[2] It resulted from racist discrimination against the black community by the mainly white police, especially the police's increased use of stop-and-search in the area, and ongoing tensions resulting from the deaths of 13 black teenagers and young adults in the suspicious New Cross house fire that January.[2] The main riot on 11 April, dubbed "Bloody Saturday" by Time magazine,[3] resulted in 279 injuries to police and 45 injuries to members of the public;[4] over a hundred vehicles were burned, including 56 police vehicles; almost 150 buildings were damaged, thirty of which were burnt out, and many shops were looted. There were 82 arrests. Reports suggested that up to 5,000 people were involved.[5] The Brixton riot was followed by similar riots in July in many other English cities and towns. The Thatcher government commissioned an inquiry, which resulted in the Scarman Report.

  1. ^ Grover, Chris (13 September 2013). Crime and Inequality. Routledge. ISBN 9781134732999.
  2. ^ a b J. A. Cloake & M. R. Tudor. Multicultural Britain. Oxford University Press, 2001. pp.60-64
  3. ^ "Britain: Bloody Saturday". Time. 20 April 1981. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  4. ^ "Battle 4 Brixton pt6 of 6". 22 April 2008. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2009 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "How smouldering tension erupted to set Brixton aflame". The Guardian. London. 13 April 1981. Retrieved 10 January 2016.