1985 Handsworth riots 1500 police officers drafted into the area, about 45 shops looted and burnt, and a trail of damage running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. As well as racial tension, unemployment was seen as a major factor in the riots; by the time of the riots, fewer than 5% of the black population to have left school that summer had found employment. The riots were the first of a series of similar riots across the country during the autumn of 1985, notably the Broadwater Farm riot in London which also resulted in a fatality (the murder of policeman Keith Blakelock).
The Riots 2012. The Riots The Riots is a play created by Gillian Slovo from spoken evidence, which explains and evaluates the events that took place during the 2011 England riots. The play is written in the style of verbatim theatre using interviews from politicians, police, rioters and victims involved in the riots. "The Riots" first opened at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn on 22 November 2011, after previewing from 17 November 2011. On 6 August 2011 rioting broke out in Tottenham, London in reaction to the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by a police officer on 4 August.