Riots Blamed On Police And Poor Parenting

A leaked copy of a report into the riots obtained by Sky News blames lack of opportunities for young people, poor parenting and lack of confidence in the police.

The document by the Riots, Communities and Victims Panel is supposed to be published on Wednesday.

It concludes a range of factors were behind the outbreak of disorder, including an inability to prevent re-offending, materialism and issues relating to confidence in policing.

"We heard from many communities who felt that rioter behaviour could ultimately be ascribed to poor parenting," the panel's report says.

The report was commissioned last summer after the outbreak of disorder in the capital and other English cities.

In the wake of the riots, the Government said it would focus on 120,000 troubled families, working to prevent re-offending, getting adults back into work and children back into schools.

But the document reveals doubts about this approach, warning just 5% of local authorities believed there was an overlap between the rioters and households in difficulty.

Instead it found half a million families who have been "forgotten" and merely "bump along the bottom of society".

The report states: "We support the work of the Troubled Families Programme but the overlap with rioters is limited.

"In a poll of 80 local authorities conducted by the panel, only 5% felt there was a great deal of overlap between the troubled families and rioter families.

"While the actual overlap might be higher, our evidence suggests that a significant connection between TFP families and the families of the rioters has not yet been established.

"Instead, public services describe a group of approximately 500,000 forgotten families who 'bump along the bottom' of society."

The report calls on the Government to financially penalise schools if pupils leave primary or secondary education without being able to read and write to an "age-appropriate" standard.

It also wants more support for people when they leave prison in a bid to cut re-offending.

In addition, ministers should make a youth jobs promise, ensuring there are more opportunities for young people who currently make up a significant proportion of the unemployed.

The panel is made up of Darra Singh, former chief executive of JobCentre Plus. Simon Marcus, boxing academy founder, barrister and government adviser Heather Rabbatts, and Maeve Sherlock, who used to run the National Council for One Parent Families.

In a statement, Mr Singh said: "We are disappointed that Sky News has leaked contents from a near final version of the Riots Communities and Victims Panel's final report, which is due to be published tomorrow and is still being finalised.

"Our remit was to give a voice to the communities and victims of the August riots. This leak has impacted on our ability to ensure they receive the widest possible audience," he added.