What's going on ...

I have been as surprised as anyone else by the sudden tsunami of violent and criminal behaviour over the last few days. There are clearly many contributory factors that have led to the sudden tipping point into lawlessness, and these must surely include the prevalence of social networking and instant messaging, media coverage, mass local unemployment, relations between the police and young people, and long-term changes in social and family patterns.

But I believe that the recent cuts in public spending must have had an impact; youth services, Connexions, and EMAs. This is not a one-issue problem and it will need careful analysis and assessment. But prevention and early intervention - vide Graham Allen - remain key elements of a long term strategy. If all we do is lock up a few hundred or a few thousand people for a short period, and that's all it can be, all we will achieve is to reduce their capacity, on release, to make any good of their lives; far too many imprisoned young people end up as long-term criminals.