Soaring youth unemployment 'could trigger more riots'

It is not only the cold winter weather which will be sending a chill up the spine today as a former Metropolitan Police chief fears there could be further unrest in Britain.

Former chief Lord Stevens yesterday predicted three years of rioting provoked by soaring youth unemployment. The cross-bench peer, who launched an independent report into policing for Labour, added that rising unemployment and crime rates was a real worry.

Only last month, official figures showed that youth unemployment had risen to one million, a record, while more than a fifth of 16-24 year-olds were out of work.

Reports out in the past week suggest poverty and unemployment to be important factors which triggered off the troubles across London and other cities in England in the summer. There are a lot of youngsters who are constantly told about the benefits of working hard to achieve success especially when you hear Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington saying the number of youngsters on the dole had risen by 80 percent over the last six months in her constituency.

Lord Stevens believes public disorder is a real possibility as the police, who have been blamed in many quarters for the troubles in August, are already feeling the effects following a 20 percent cut in their budget.

Speaking at a press conference at the Royal Festival Hall in London, Lord Stevens said,

My belief is in the next 18 months, two to three years, one of the main issues will be public order, or rather public disorder. Looking ahead, you can see there is disquiet on the streets – really concerned about youth unemployment, unemployment generally; really concerned about signs of an increase in crime.

The weeks, months and perhaps the next few years are going to be particularly difficult for Black communities. Disproportionately high unemployment, a crippled Black voluntary sector, and seemingly a Government that doesn't understand that a small investment into our communities - youth groups and NGO's - is infinitely much cheaper than picking up the pieces of social unrest, the likes we witnessed last summer.

Image: A scene from the August riots and Lord Stevens (right)