Riots Spread Across the United Kingdom

[Patticus]

I was just listening to a terrified woman on Sky News, who had looters break into her house.

The stories coming out of this, the buildings being burned, the shops looted, it's making me very angry. I won't riot, but I do think we need to get the army deployed to stop any more violence in its tracks.

[Badnik Mechanic]

BRING IN THE ARMY!!!!! Show those sons of b*tches whose boss!

Before or after you hit the people who are just caught up in the middle of it.

Thats why we don't have the army being dragged into this yet or police grabbing their guns as many people want. We're not at the situation where that needs to happen. It's not an 'us vs them' riot, it's gangs looking for an excuse to cause shit.

[Scott]

I leave you all tonight for bed, and hope you are all doing fine *hugs to all* <3

But I leave you a song to reflect the situation (and im currently listening to)

(donno how to get the video to show)

They don't really care about us (cover) - Northern Kings

Edited August 8, 2011 by Scott

[blackherox]

If we get anything other than Cameron saying "These acts are disgusting and those responsible will be punished" I'll be amazed. He's a joke, his government is weak and pathetic. It's almost like that moment in the original Portal where you escape the fire pit and Glados says "What are you doing? Stop it! I... I... I! I!I!I!I!! IIIIIIII!!!" Before it all falls apart.

But what would you have him do? Ed Miliband and Clegg have pretty much said they same thing, as would most politicians, sans the countries who crack down hard on this type of thing (i.e. China, Middle east etc).

[Tornado]

As for the politicians....

David Cameron has cut his holiday short... the Home Secretary has cut her holiday short... and Nick Clegg has cut his holiday short and is walking around Tottenham talking to people.

HOORAY! That'll fix it!

If we get anything other than Cameron saying "These acts are disgusting and those responsible will be punished" I'll be amazed. He's a joke, his government is weak and pathetic. It's almost like that moment in the original Portal where you escape the fire pit and Glados says "What are you doing? Stop it! I... I... I! I!I!I!I!! IIIIIIII!!!" Before it all falls apart.

And what exactly do you think he should be doing, pray tell? Don riot gear and disperse groups himself?

I know you hate the guy, but come on.

[Swiss]

Seems so appropriate right now:

Disperse the real power of the law already.

[Melru]

I dont't know exactly what's going on in London, but is breaking into shops, rummaging and sacking them, and burning them down truly necessary? That's just crazy. Crazy crazy crazy. I can never imagine my local area getting destroyed bit by bit, it's just too weird to think about. Needless to say, I'm glad no one here is hurt, keep posted. The images and videos released of the destruction is too much D=

[DarkOverord]

OH MY DO'S GONNA POST NOW

Last Thursday, a murderous gangster was shot dead by London police.

Today, it needs to happen again. Many, many times over.

I'd like the proof on this. I've not heard once that the guy was a gangster, hell, there's reports he may have been unarmed...

I don't live near the current effected areas but my Dad is a policeman and I fear that the riots might come near Salford and Bolton, I don't live near there but my Dad is based in the outskirts of Bolton.

it's rumoured to spread to Nothern England!

I'm really sorry to say this, but given Manchester's history, it's highly unlikely that we WON'T get riots, Salford and Bolton are both run down areas that are getting effected by government cuts, there's a lot of anger flowing round here that I'm surprised that it hasn't ALREADY

I don't get why they're rioting in in Birmingham, its not in London for crying out loud.

Edit: Not that I approve of the behaviour in London, but the initial incident happened in London, why in the hell are Birmingham protesting when the have a completely different Police force.

Simple, one riot always triggers more. This is admittedly idiots now. And once again Britain shows it struggles to handle a peaceful protest. Remember the Student Riots and doing plenty of damage to the Tory HQ? People didn't condemn that so much even though it's the same principle...

Speaking of the L.A. riots, does the U.K. have an equivalent to the National Guard to call in to try and take control of the situation if the police can't get things settled? I've heard calls to bring "the military" into the situation, but I'm not sure what that means for a non-U.S. country.

Means actually throwing in the Army. :V

Precisely. The Police are good people, so why risk their lives for something they won't be able to control?

Because they're trained to. They're called "Riot" police for a reason.

This is obviously way too much for the Police to handle, get the Army out to protect people

And this is exactly what the government won't want to do. Last thing the UK needs is to bring in the Army, it didn't end well last time...

I actually suspect it's more to do with how incompetent the Metropoliton police department appear to be lately when it comes to their behaviour as a unit.

I have no doubt that as a single individual their great police men... but as an organisation... they don't fill me with hope.

For instance, the first night the rioting broke out... the police didn't exactly impress me that much with their responce... they put all their riot officers outside of the tottenham police station and whilst Carpet Right and the apartments were burning they did nothing.

It wasn't until hours past that they actually bothered to move into the worst hit areas.

Today I saw reports and whilst watching it live on TV there were between 50-100 rioters in Hackney... there were 300 police in full riot gear... ... in a totally different area where nothing was going on.

I think we should look at the fact that Police are 3 steps behind in the new dawn of technology. And it's VERY easy to misdirect the police...

If we get anything other than Cameron saying "These acts are disgusting and those responsible will be punished" I'll be amazed. He's a joke, his government is weak and pathetic. It's almost like that moment in the original Portal where you escape the fire pit and Glados says "What are you doing? Stop it! I... I... I! I!I!I!I!! IIIIIIII!!!" Before it all falls apart.

You'll be pleased to know that Cameron will return to immediatly enter a meeting with 10Downing Street's emergency committee, Cobra.

Also. Again. Calling for Army. It NEVER ends well. Look at flipping Ireland for petes sake.

Oh at time of posting:

0059:

Merseyside Police confirm they are dealing with a number of incidents in South Liverpool, including cars being set alight. Members of the public have been advised to avoid Smithdown Road, Lodge Lane and Upper Parliament Street. In a statement, Merseyside Police's Andy Ward said: "Officer have tonight dealt with a small number of incidents of violence across the city. We will not tolerate any violence on the streets of Liverpool and have taken swift and robust action in response."

There's unrest oop north for tyou

Edited August 9, 2011 by DarkOverord

[Kevin]

I'm really worried about some friends of mine outside of SSMB who live or work in London. I sent them a message, and I'm waiting to hear back from them. I really hope this doesn't spread further to other areas of the UK, especially to where some of my other friends live. I'm glad everyone who has checked in here so far is ok.

Best wishes to all law enforcement officers, as well. My father is on duty this week, and I'm just waiting for his phone to start ringing, really. You know 'tis bad when London calls on Kent.

I wish your dad all the best of luck, Glenn!

[Detective Shadzter]

http://lockerz.com/s/127886414

Supposedly this is a pic of Handsworth police station in Birmingham being set on fire by the rioters. Disgusting

[Badnik Mechanic]

And what exactly do you think he should be doing, pray tell? Don riot gear and disperse groups himself?

I know you hate the guy, but come on.

First thing they should do is publically insist that the police take a far more aggressive stance to rioting than they currently are, which is what most people seem to want.

Secondly they need to re-evaluate their current budget cuts to various poorer areas which have ironically had more of their budget cut than Cameron/Clegg and several other consituencies which are represented by the current cabinet.

Thirdly, The Home Secretary should offer her resignation once this is over for such a piss poor responce when this first started.

I think those three things alone would resonate more with the general mood of the public other than 'oh we understand your pain' when they so obviously don't.

[Patticus]

The police don't have the appropriate equipment to effectively tackle these riots; there are no water cannons this side of the Irish Sea and the Met doesn't hold any licenses to use them if it did have them. The Met has a lot to answer for in regards to the killing that kicked all this off, but the rioting hasn't been about that since Sunday and these rioting chucklefucks deserve to feel the fullest force of the law.

[Detective Shadzter]

Sky News say the police have confirmed the Handsworth police station in Birmingham has been set on fire.

[Flyboy Fox]

According to Google's riot map, a cinema in Chelsea has been set on fire about two streets away from the hospital where my mum is going in for breast cancer surgery tomorrow. If these riots stop her from being able to get to the hospital, I will be PISSED.

Also, rioting one town over from where my elderly (82 year old) father lives. Ugh ._.;;

[Mr. Awesomest]

If I were in the rioting towns, I'd shut my windows and cover them with non-flammable curtains, and maybe take a rake or something and hammer its ends to sharp edges.

But then again I also wouldn't dare be anyone 'big' without wearing some sort of bullet-proof armor of some kind in public.

Whatever. I hope all of SSMB's English members don't get caught up in anything.

Edited August 9, 2011 by Mr.Awesomest

[Gaming Misfit]

Sky News say the police have confirmed the Handsworth police station in Birmingham has been set on fire.

Wow. How barbaric. I hope this doesn't go any farther. People are seriously about to get hurt if it does.

According to Google's riot map, a cinema in Chelsea has been set on fire about two streets away from the hospital where my mum is going in for breast cancer surgery tomorrow. If these riots stop her from being able to get to the hospital, I will be PISSED.

Also, rioting one town over from where my elderly (82 year old) father lives. Ugh ._.;;

Oh lord, I hope everything is alright Flyboy, I'll be thinking of you and your family.

[Detective Shadzter]

Sky News reports that over 100 arrests have been made in Birmingham. Take that, rioters!

[Kevin]

According to Google's riot map, a cinema in Chelsea has been set on fire about two streets away from the hospital where my mum is going in for breast cancer surgery tomorrow. If these riots stop her from being able to get to the hospital, I will be PISSED.

Also, rioting one town over from where my elderly (82 year old) father lives. Ugh ._.;;

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you in regards to your mother and father, Flyboy. I hope they'll be safe!

[Flyboy Fox]

Bristol now, too? Oh my giddy aunt, as my late grandma would say. Kinda glad I'm in the States... but my mum lives near Bristol x.o

[EXshad]

I just heard about this story today.. wow, this is fucking atrocious. It looks surreal and a destructive as something you'd see in a movie, like the scene from Batman Begins when the insane break out of prison and begin unleashing hell.

So apparently this is happening because the police shot and killed a 29-year-old father of four, right? These rioters are handling it totally wrong; don't they understand that this violent behavior could result in MORE people dead at the hands of the cops? And looting shops and lighting fire to places unconnected to their cause destroys ANY possible message that they could have been trying to send anyway. It's barbaric, disgusting, and fucking immature. I don't care how fucked over these people feel, breaking into a shop and riding out with brand new bikes, or stealing a collection of PS3 games is just.. wow.

God help the innocent people who are stuck in this absolute horse shit. And may the London members on here stay safe as well.

Edited August 9, 2011 by EXshad

[Detective Shadzter]

Bristol now, too? Oh my giddy aunt, as my late grandma would say. Kinda glad I'm in the States... but my mum lives near Bristol x.o

Sky News just updated and said there are over 150 rioters in Bristol right now Hope your family will be safe.

[Flyboy Fox]

My mum lives in a rural village which probably won't be affected, but she'll have to go to Bristol tomorrow morning to get to London for her surgery, so I'm anxious that the station might be closed or the trains impossible...

[Demofax]

I can't believe how bad this whole thing has gotten. It seems so unreal to think it's happening, you can only wonder how much further it's going to go. I feel so helpless for the poor people caught in the mess. D: I know at least 3 people caught up right in the middle of the London riots and my friend in Bristol is trying to get some sleep but i'm texting him updates. This is just insane! Such a needless mess. I doubt many of those rioters know what they're actually wrecking the place for.

[Detective Shadzter]

My mum lives in a rural village which probably won't be affected, but she'll have to go to Bristol tomorrow morning to get to London for her surgery, so I'm anxious that the station might be closed or the trains impossible...

Bristol's police chief just spoke to Sky News and they seem to have it under control. They said it's going smoothly and they had plenty of officers on hand just in case this happened. So hopefully things should be fine there.

[Kevin]

Shit! I really hope it doesn't spread to Weston-Super-Mare since that's where a friend of mine lives, and it's not too far from Bristol.

My mum lives in a rural village which probably won't be affected, but she'll have to go to Bristol tomorrow morning to get to London for her surgery, so I'm anxious that the station might be closed or the trains impossible...

I hope your mom will be safe, Flyboy. If it looks really bad, is there another hospital that can take her?