| 1981 Handsworth riots | |
|---|---|
| Part of the 1981 England riots | |
| Date | 10–12 July 1981 |
| Location | Handsworth, Birmingham, England |
| Methods | Rioting |
| Casualties and losses | |
| 40 police officers injured 121 arrests made | |
The 1981 Handsworth riots were three days of rioting that took place in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England in July 1981.[1] The major outbreak of violence took place on the night of Friday 10/11 July, with smaller disturbances on the following two nights.[2]
The riots were characterised by the Scarman report into the 1981 riots in England as "copycat riots" – taking place after the Brixton riots in London, and around the same time as the Toxteth riots in Liverpool and the Moss Side riots in Manchester – though some have argued that this is an oversimplification.[1] The immediate flashpoint was an attack on a locally well-known Police Superintendent who was trying to calm rumours of an impending march by the right-wing National Front.[1] The following disturbances resulted in 121 arrests and 40 injuries to police officers, alongside widespread damage to property.[3]
Before the riots Handsworth had been considered to be a good example of successful community policing, though local Black British youths later disputed the claim that relations between them and the police had been amicable: around 40% of them had been stopped and searched over the previous 12 months.[1] Handsworth had a mixed population of white, black and Asian residents, but surveys after the riots showed little evidence of significant racial tension.[3] A week before the riots, during the weekend that saw CS gas used against rioters for the first time on the British Mainland in Toxteth, Liverpool, a reporter from The Times had visited a festival in Handsworth Park and found "8,000 people, black and white" in "a spirit as amiable and peaceful as a rural village fete".[4] The most common reasons for the riots reported by participants were unemployment, boredom and the imitation of events elsewhere.[3]