1981 Moss Side riot

In July 1981, the inner-city district of Moss Side in Manchester, England, was the scene for mass rioting. By that time, the area had been a key settlement for Asian and Caribbean immigrants for over thirty years. The rioting at Moss Side started at the local police station and later moved into the surrounding streets over two days. Key factors seen as fuel for this riot were racial tension and mass unemployment brought on by the early 1980s recession. Unemployment was at a post-war high across the nation during 1981, but was much higher than the national average in Moss Side. There were also frequent allegations of police officers racially abusing and using excessive force against black youths in the area.

On 8 July 1981, a crowd of more than 1,000 youths besieged the police station at Moss Side, Manchester. All windows in the building were broken, and twelve police vehicles were set on fire. Police reinforcements equipped with riot shields and protective crash helmets were deployed around the station. A second attempt was made by crowds to attack the police station and during this a policeman was shot with a crossbow bolt through his leg.

Following the violence, Chief Constable James Anderton of Greater Manchester met with local community leaders including councillors, churchmen and youth workers. Agreements made in this meeting were later disputed. James Anderton stated in his official report about the riots that per request from the community leaders, he ordered his officers to maintain a low profile and avoid further confrontations, to allow the leaders time to ease tension among the young people and disperse the crowds. The community leaders that attended the meeting denied that they had demanded that police withdraw from Moss Side. Anderton later told the Greater Manchester Police Committee that the community leaders had failed to deliver on their promise to restore peace and were simply unable to admit their lack of influence over the people engaged in the rioting.

The "low profile" approach of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the efforts of the community leaders failed to stop the rioting which lasted for some 48 hours over two nights, with much burning and looting of shops all the way down Princess Road, Clarendon Road and the surrounding areas, including Rusholme.

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