Corrupt and confused?

Were the police too "soft" in their handling of the city riots earlier this month?. Did officers in the Met get too close to their in News International? In an influential new article, Professor Martin Innes considers the police response to a summer of upheaval. Writing a major article for the policy magazine, Prospect , Professor Innes, Director of the Universities? Police Science Institute, traces the delicate balance between control and consent which police have had to manage since the days of Sir Robert Peel. He challenges Prime Minister David Cameron's analysis that police response to the Tottenham riots was "too few, too slow, too timid." Professor Innes writes: "Cameron's analysis ignores the fact that controlled violence is difficult. Violence is chaotic and occurs in emotionally charged situations. This affects both individual officers and the decisions of their commanders." Professor Innes also disputes claims that years of community policing have made officers too "soft", pointing to falling levels of crime, increased public confidence and lower concern about anti-social behaviour. Instead, he suggests that the police failed to respond to the changing nature of riots, using tactics suited to large-scale demonstrations for what was a more fluid, leaderless disruption.