- 1981 Moss Side riot
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The Moss Side riot happened in July 1981 in and around Moss Side in Manchester, England.
On 8 July 1981 more than 1,000 young people besieged the police station at Moss Side, Manchester. During this a policeman was shot with a crossbow bolt through his leg
The riot lasted for some 72 hours over three nights, with much burning and looting of shops all the way down Princess Road, Clarendon Road and the surrounding areas, including Rusholme. It ended on 11 July when the Manchester police went in hard: The Greater Manchester Police Tactical Aid Group was deployed in mobile snatch squads using vans to drive into groups of rioters and then to make arrests. In the space of 2 hours 150 people were arrested with no police injuries reported. James Anderton's force were the only force in Britain kitted out with full riotsquad gear; unlike in Brixton and Toxteth there were none of the usual British tall police helmets visible, just white riotsquad-style crash helmets. In terms of tactics and equipment GMP were the prepared english police force at the time of the 1981 riots. Anderton had allowed community leaders time to disperse the crowds over the previous two days with no result and his decisive intervention and use of snatch squads set the benchmark for effective public order policing in the UK As Moss Side had been a key settlement for Asian and Caribbean immigrants over the previous 30 years, racial tension was seen as a key factor in the riots, as was the mass unemployment in Moss Side brought on by the recession; although unemployment was at a postwar high by this stage, it was much higher than the national average in Moss Side.
There were also allegations of police officers racially abusing some of the black youths who were rioting.[1]
Afterwards the Moss Side section of the Princess Road (a main road south from Manchester center) was closed for several days while adjacent buildings and gas mains damaged in the riot and fires were made safe.
See also
- Brixton riot (1981) - London
- Chapeltown riot (1981) - Leeds
- Handsworth riots - Birmingham
- Toxteth riots - Liverpool
- List of riots
- Urban riots
References
External links
Riots in England Pre-20th century 1189 Massacre of the Jews · 1196 Poor riot · 1355 St Scholastica Day riot · 1381 Peasants' Revolt · 1517 Evil May Day · 1668 Bawdy House Riots · 1769 Spitalfield Riots · 1780 Gordon riots · 1791 Priestley riots · 1793 Bristol Bridge riot · 1809 Old Price Riots · 1816 Spa Fields riots · 1816 Ely and Littleport riots · 1819 Peterloo Massacre · 1830 Swing riots · 1831 Queen Square riots (Bristol) · 1832 Days of May · 1838 Battle of Bossenden Wood · 1896 Newlyn riotsPre-1970s 1907 Brown Dog riots · 1910 Tonypandy riots · 1919 Epsom riot · 1919 Battle of Bow Street · 1919 Luton Peace Day riots · 1932 Old Market riot (Bristol) · 1936 Battle of Cable Street · 1958 Notting Hill race riots1970s 1980s 1980 St. Pauls riot · 1981 England riots · 1981 Brixton riot · 1981 Chapeltown race riot · 1981 Toxteth riots · 1981 Moss Side riot · 1981 Handsworth riots · 1985 Handsworth riots · 1985 Brixton riot · 1985 Broadwater Farm riot · 1987 Chapeltown race riot · 1989 Dewsbury race riot1990s 1990 Poll Tax riots · 1990 Strangeways Prison riot · 1991 Meadow Well riots · 1991 Handsworth riots · 1992 Hartcliffe riot (Bristol) · 1995 Manningham riot · 1995 Brixton riot2000s 2001 England riots: 2001 Bradford riots · 2001 Oldham race riots · 2001 Harehills riot · 2005 Birmingham race riots2010s Related articles Death of Mark Duggan · House of Reeves · List of riots · List of riots in Leeds · List of riots in London · Death of Keith Blakelock · Public Order Act · Riot · Riot Act · Riot control · Scarman reportCategories:- 1981 riots
- 1981 in England
- Race riots in England
- Black British history
- History of Manchester
- Crime stubs
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