Now that order is re-established on the streets of Britain, the hard work of rebuilding has begun.
In the near term, Britons are familiarizing themselves with the finer points of an arcane piece of Victorian legislation, the Riot (Damages) Act 1886. This statute allows property owners to be reimbursed by the local police department for damages suffered as a result of rioting. Unfortunately, this will produce yet another financial headache for a British government wrestling with deep and wide-ranging spending cuts necessary to address the enormous national debt accumulated under the prior Labor government.
Of course, much blame has been passed since the riots began, whether to feral kids indulging in sick acts of wanton destruction, or to successive left-wing governments that have created an underclass smothered by idleness and entitlement. But little good will come of such shallow sermonizing.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who rose to national political prominence two decades ago with a stirring speech about the gruesome murder of toddler James Bulger by two small boys, has strongly criticized the "muddle-headed analysis" emerging from both the left and the right. Such political point-scoring will draw attention away from a very specific problem and equally specific solution.
Crimes were committed during the riots on a scale that previously would have been hard for Britons to imagine. In London from Aug. 6-8, there were more than 3,000 crimes recorded, including a thousand incidents of burglary and more than 100 assaults. London police estimate that up to one-fourth of those arrested have links to gangs.
One unexpected hero to emerge in the riots' aftermath is the British judicial system. By their speed in trials and firm sentences, the courts have gone far to restore credibility to the rule of law.
Magistrates are working around the clock to process the unprecedented number of criminal cases in a matter of days, rather than the months such cases would take in the U.S. British magistrates are members of the local community, who live alongside both the perpetrators of crimes and their victims.
Some commentators have noted that many rioting sentences have been significantly harsher than normal. Ultimately, of course, this begs the question of whether earlier sentences had been too lenient.
Regardless, when sentences are handed down, rioting must be an aggravating factor. There is a real and fundamental difference between a crime committed against a backdrop of arson and looting, and an isolated crime on a typical day in a community. During rioting, each criminal act feeds into the maelstrom of wider destruction, as observers become increasingly desensitized, and their ability to make effective judgments, and weigh the consequences of their actions, are impaired.
Unsurprisingly, appeals courts have been equally prompt in reviewing these convictions, and some already have been overturned. In one noteworthy case, the conviction of a woman who received stolen clothing from a looter, but was not otherwise involved in the theft, was overturned. However, this is precisely the role of appeals courts. There must be a measure of consistency in sentencing to ensure that particular judgments are not disproportionate or unsound because of concerns over racism or other inappropriate considerations.
Prime Minister David Cameron has long focused his political rhetoric on the need to fix a "broken Britain." Even his predecessor, Tony Blair, argued this week that the key problem underlying the riots was the growing subculture of alienated youths who are isolated from the social mainstream. Britons must look past oversimplifying arguments about the intersection of poverty and affluence, and instead address more awkward questions about families, parental involvement and values generally.
A British public opinion poll this week placed criminality, gang culture and bad parenting as leading causes of the rioting. Far below in the survey responses were unemployment, government cuts or poverty generally.
Where unemployment and idleness are passed down from one generation to another, again and again, a simple flurry of spending on job training or teacher overtime will accomplish little. Much more is needed to reverse the rise in selfishness and the decline in responsibility in these communities.
In the same survey, Britons displayed little confidence that government changes to education policy, welfare policy or economic policy would fix "broken Britain." One-size-fits-all solutions dropped from above, together with a flurry of check-writing, will do little to help.
Instead, local leaders, both inside and outside of government, will need to be enlisted to address these challenges.
Importantly, very large numbers of youths, even among the poorest and most destitute, did not participate in the riots. Large numbers of citizens from various backgrounds, ethnicities, and generations have actively engaged in the clean-up activities that have sprouted up naturally in the worst-affected communities.
Legal problems have legal solutions, and it is encouraging to see the British criminal justice system rise to the challenge it has been presented. However, the hard work of addressing parenting failures and the culture of criminality that festers at the margins of society will need to remain a priority for all Britons in the months and years to come.