Mark Duggan, 10 years on

By Mayowa Ayodele

It is now 10 years since the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan which occurred in Tottenham on 4 August 2011. The death of Mark, 29, is intrinsically linked to the riots which erupted in London and the rise of similar riots in other major cities across the country. It would end as the largest wave of riots seen in the UK since the 1980s and the most prolonged and widespread in London since the 1780s.

The scale of what followed has meant that mainstream recollection of Mark Duggan’s death has tended to pivot to either the riots themselves or the overlapping social discord which the riots brought to the fore. This has become an inevitability on retrospective analysis of 4 August, but it should never be forgotten that the immediate response following Duggan’s death was the search for truth and resolution, something which is still denied to his family to this day.

On 6 August, family and relatives led a peaceful march to demand information following his death. However, they were let down by police unwilling to offer any information. It was claimed that this was due to an ongoing IPCC (now IOPC) investigation, but both then and now this stance had been the source of notable criticism.

Principle among the discord that the ensuing riots brought to the fore was community relations and policing, a relationship only worsened by false reports immediately after his death claiming that Mark Duggan had shot at the police first. Speaking to the Guardian, former government advisor on violent crime Derrick Campbell explained how he believed this issue to be central to what would unfold:

At the time, young people felt they were subjected to unacceptable levels of over-policing and there was a sense of disfranchisement. The shooting of Mark Duggan was said to be the reason for the disturbances but that wasn’t the case, it was simply the spark. We were working for years within the community and many felt abandoned and forgotten by the establishment. Long story short, society was broken.

Derrick Campbell

There has been much written here and elsewhere on how systemic racism in policing has placed black and mixed heritage individuals at a deficit in the eyes of the public and the law. This deficit is entrenched by the portrayal of these individuals as 'less than' in media reporting. In Mark Duggan's case, this was illustrated in real-time even though it was not fully acknowledged.

Recently, the focus has shifted to the parallels that exist between now and then, and, as is almost always the case after the death of a person at the hands of law enforcement, the question that is asked remains the same: how much progress has been made to ensure that we as a society are further away from where we were and closer to where we must be?

Many are understandably sceptical. The new Home Office Select Committee Report casts a dire outlook on any suggestions of ‘progress’. It revealed that confidence in policing is still not being viewed as a Ministerial or policing priority, with the effects of this being felt among both adults and youth.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister's description of Stop and Search as "kind and loving" has been described as an exercise in gaslighting by Injustice's Katrina Ffrench. At a time when campaigners are questioning its effectiveness (this would read as true 20 years ago as it does today) the government's messaging over the last 18 months has left many to question whether they can engage with communities in a way that will yield a fruitful response. 

The broader analysis on Mark Duggan’s death and what the ensuing riots meant for society will continue well into the future. This is an inevitability, partly because the IOPC's failure to revisit the case reflects where we are now, but also because, ten years later, the Tottenham community is still rallying against over-policing. It is a sad indictment of lessons yet to be learned, and while it is incredibly difficult to present a view of 'justice' after a life has been lost, his family are still in need of answers.

Rest in peace Mark Duggan.