Policing lessons helped prevent 2011 riots in Sheffield

A University academic's research with local communities has found that the 'local style of policing' was a factor in preventing riots in Sheffield in the summer of 2011.

Sheffield Hallam sociology lecturer Dr Bob Jeffery has talked to members of local communities and other researchers in the city, and believes that a more open approach to policing and community engagement may have resulted from the lessons learned by South Yorkshire Police after they dealt with major community policing issues in the 1980s, such as the Battle of Orgreave and Hillsborough.

Dr Bob Jeffery will use a two-day event at Sheffield's Showroom Cinema, The August 2011 Riots: Salford and Sheffield on Thursday 8 November and Friday 9 November to test his theory that several key factors prevented Sheffield from joining other cities such as Salford, Birmingham and London in staging major attacks against the police and businesses.

Dr Jeffery also believes that the geography of Sheffield along with its strong sense of community stopped riots from taking place and wants to test his hypotheses by inviting local residents to attend the event and have their say on why rioting did not occur in Sheffield.

He said: "In my interviews with local communities across Sheffield, it has been suggested that the style of policing adopted by South Yorkshire Police has been less aggressive than in other major metropolitan areas and this has been cited as a reason why riots didn't take place in the city.

"That conciliatory approach, together with a strong sense of community and distinctive features in the city's layout, have all been mentioned by local people.

"I'll be carrying out further interviews and surveys at The Showroom and would encourage anyone with views about why riots were avoided to attend."

The exhibition, being held as part of the Economic Social and Research Council's Festival of Social Science, will also feature amateur photographs and paintings inspired by the riots in Salford and testimonies taken during the riots across the north.

Dr Jeffery said: "This event and the international conference held at Sheffield Hallam in September this year are based upon my research into poverty, deprivation and policing in Salford, as well as looking to explain why Sheffield did not follow the pattern of other northern cities.

"There have been a number of arguments put forward by academics, politicians and commentators as to why riots did not occur in certain cities, with suggestions varying from the quality of police-community relations, concentrations of poverty, the existence of 'flashpoints' that unleashed community anger, and even the weather.

"My aim is to draw upon the lack of disorder in Sheffield to interrogate these arguments so as to better understand the underlying causes of social unrest, the triggers of particular instances of disorder, but also the ways in which politicians, institutions such as the police and community groups can work together to prevent such incidents occurring in the future. "

Photograph, showing riots in Salford taken by Stephen Broadhurst, will be on display during the exhibition. It is one of several ESRC events taking place across the city.

For press information contact: Laurie Harvey on 0114 225 2621 or email pressoffice@shu.ac.uk