‘Bored’ youngsters fuelled UK riots

A new survey has suggested that youngsters, who were getting bored by their school holidays, had fuelled riots across the United Kingdom.

The riots began in north London’s Tottenham, after a peaceful march to protest the death of 19-year-old Mark Duggan in a police shootout turned violent.

What began as a spark transformed into a blaze of violence, spreading to surrounding regions and even to cities and towns.

The poll of 1,000 people aged between 12 and 18 found almost a third (31 percent) of London respondents said the riots occurred because youth got bored during the school break.

About 46 percent of respondents said the riots erupted because young people do not respect police, while 43% said the riots drew huge support as people thought they would evade police capture successfully.

The respondents of the survey said violence and looting may not have escalated to such devastating levels had school sessions been on.

Campaigners said the incident illustrated the need for providing better opportunities to children during their leisure time.

"The survey clearly shows that young people in cities are crying out for positive activities during the long summer holidays. It's no surprise that boredom breeds bad behaviour,” Express.co.uk quoted Cricket Foundation Chief Executive Wasim Khan, as saying.
 
“Children need an outlet to channel their energies and a structured competitive environment like street cricket can help provide this,” he added.