Pressure on 'underclass' will rebound

"Zero tolerance" policing could lead to a repeat of the urban riots seen in the UK during the early 1980s, suggests a study by a Leicester University criminologist. Chris Crowther, lecturer in criminal justice studies, believes that "zero tolerance" is the latest policing strategy for controlling the "underclass" in Britain, and that it focuses unjustifiable blame for rising crime levels on the poorest and most needy in our society. His study report argues that the police should examine past problems in the inner cities before adopting such strategies. "If they fail to do so, it is quite likely that history will repeat itself, and that there will be further major unrest in Britain's inner cities," he said.

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