Research first, judge second

Image of upside down rainbow with the text reading 'life beyond stereotypes'

Research first, judge second

"Being convinced one knows the whole story is the surest way to fail."

Philip Crosby

The spasm of violence that hit our urban centres in August was shocking. For those living in the areas affected, their communities became frightening places to be, it seemed as if the fabric of society was breaking down. Social media and 24 hour news meant we were continually updated with every act of violence, real or imagined. While there was much bluster and rumour there were very real tragedies such as the deaths of young men trying to defend their communities, businesses that had taken a lifetime to build destroyed in minutes, homes burnt out. We immediately wanted to find some way of explaining this seemingly random dive into urban violence and unrest.

Two groups were immediately blamed for the troubles by many in the public eye during and soon after the riots. However, data from the BBC now shows that those who stated that the riots in Manchester were the work of “juvenile gangs” are mistaken. “The average age of those charged in the city is 24, the youngest 12 and the oldest 58. Only one in ten of those charged were under the age of 16”. In fact the ’feral juveniles’ who were initially accused of causing so much of the trouble were nothing of the sort. Theresa May said to the Home Affairs Committee on the 8th September that “about 25% of those arrested [across the country as a whole] were juveniles”.

Theresa May also had to admit that there was no evidence that gangs had been behind the riots. “The "majority of people" involved in the riots appear not to have been in gangs, the home secretary has said.” This is despite many of those in power stating categorically that this was the case. Two groups in society had been assumed to be at fault. Even if it is now being proven that this was not the case, damage has been done to already fragile communities and inflamed views.

The causes of the riots were attributed to many things, young people and gangs as illustrated above but also; austerity measures - cuts in services, a criminal underclass, a lack of morals instilled in our young people, distrust in the police, lack of ethical leadership in our society, culture of entitlement, social exclusion, poor policing, a racial element, rap music, opportunism, immigration.... the list goes on. In fact whatever your personal point of view there was a cause that made sense for you.

And this is a danger at a time of heightened emotion and turmoil; in fact it’s a danger at many points in life. Human nature means we fit the world to our own prejudices, essentially we see what we believe is there. Responses to the riots provide a very real example of how if we don’t take a step back, away from the shock, anger and confusion to research, review or reflect we might not see the world as it really is (or how others might see it). We only reflect our own views, and the emotions we feel.

Of course, I’m a researcher so I am going to promote research! But it is a basic tool that can ensure that the decisions we make about the big (and little) things in life are based on sound judgement and an objective view. We can check our assumptions, hear the voices of those involved, and take time to consider the whole landscape. It also allows us to see the entirety <br>of an issue. Rather than following one strand or issue, we can understand how many issues may interact to create a problem or situation, such as the riots. As a result we can bring subtlety to our thinking about complex problems and therefore develop the complex solutions they sometimes need.

Obviously research is open to interpretation and manipulation. Indeed researchers can bias outcomes by poor question wording or inappropriate interviewing style; however, we are trained to be aware of these biases, to examine our own assumptions about an issue before we research it. If used honestly research gives us a strong base from which to argue our case, ensures we are as prejudice free as possible and ultimately to create the change we want to see.

While young people and gang members undoubtedly played a part in the unrest, because of a lack of research, responsibility for the riots was placed on groups based on prejudice not evidence. The way we all judged the rioters is reflective of our wider tendencies to judge people and situations when we don’t have all the evidence, when we presume we know, but don’t know, the whole story.

 

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