The disturbances, riots and looting that erupted in London in August 2011 and subsequently spread to other English cities shocked both the communities in which these events occurred and those observing them from the outside. Despite the instinctive desire for quick explanations and ‘something to be done’, it is important to review thoroughly the available evidence in order to develop appropriate criminal justice and social policy responses. Data on those charged, as presented in this paper, can offer an insight into some of the dynamics of the riots and go some way to addressing key policy questions.

It has long been noted that young males and those from disadvantaged backgrounds are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, and this is likely to be due to a combination of greater criminogenic risk and preferential attention and processing by the police (see Scraton, 2008; Squires, 2006; Klein, 2011; Wilkinson and Picket, 2009; Young, 2007). This paper examines the extent to which the deprivation-crime relationship holds at a local (Greater Manchester) area by analysing the extent to which rioters charged with criminal offences were disproportionately drawn from multiply deprived areas of residence.