Brixton is an area of South London, England.

Brixton is a multiethnic community, with

around 24 percent of Brixtons population being of frican and!or "aribbean descent,
gi#ing to Brixton the name of the capital of the British frican$"aribbean community in
London.
%ow is a better place, but in the past Brixton was an area with se#ere social ! economic
problems& the British frican$"aribbean community was suffering high unemployment,
low wages, poor housing and a high crime rate . 'he police were often una#ailable to,
and hostile towards, members of the Blac( community&
'hrough the hea#y use of the S)S law * a law which allowed police to stop and search
any men or women on the basis of a mere +suspicion+ of wrong$doing $ blac( youths
were often physically and ! or psychologically abused. 'he S)S law ga#e people more
reason to mistrust the police, so there were many riots in the streets of Brixton.
,n the e#ening of the -.th of pril, a blac( youth who had been stabbed in an attac(
was being /uestioned by police in tlantic 0oad. crowd gathered and, as the police
didnt appear to be pro#iding the medical help the #ictim needed, the crowd tried to
inter#ene. 1inally the youth was ta(en to a hospital, but some rumours spread that the
youth had been left to die by the police, or sometihng similar. 'hen o#er 2.. youths,
blac( and white, faced the police and, in response, the police decided to increase the
number of police foot patrols.
%ext day, the tensions erupted and a mob clashed with police. 'he riot resulted in
almost 224 in3uries 4most of them were cops5& o#er a hundred #ehicles were burned,&
and almost -6. buildings were damaged. 'here were 72 arrests and reports suggested
that up to 6,... people were in#ol#ed in the riot. 'he 8o#ernment had to be seen to be
doing something. 'his is how appeared the Scarman report. Scarman found
un/uestionable e#idence of the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of +stop and
search+ powers by the police against blac( people. s a conse/uence, a new code for
police beha#iour was put forward.
'he riot of -976 was caused by the shooting of :orothy +"herry+ 8roce by police, while
they were loo(ing for her son ;ichael 8roce because they belie#ed that he was hiding
firearms in his mother+s home. ;ichael 8roce wasnt there at the time of the shooting,
and ;rs. 8roce was paralysed below the waist by the police bullet. 'he rumours about
the shooting were spread through the community and a large group of protesters
gathered at the local police station singing anti$racist slogans and demanding
disciplinary action against the officers in#ol#ed. 'he police lost control of the area for
approximately 47 hours during which one photo$3ournalist died as a result of head
in3uries.
'he Brixton riots of -996 was on :ecember -2 after the death of blac( 2< year old,
=ayne :ouglas, in police custody 4the police statement said that ;r :ouglas died after
collapsing while being /uestioned5. 'rouble began after what had been a peaceful
protest outside the Brixton >olice Station where the death occurred. =ith se#eral
hundred people in#ol#ed, the riot resulted in damage to property and #ehicles in the
area. >olice sealed off a three (ilometres area around Brixton. 'he riot lasted for fi#e
hours. 22 people were arrested and three police officers were hurt.
'he >rime ;inister at the time condemned the riots and said ?efforts to impro#e Brixton
would continue?. nd he was right, because nowadays Brixton is a security place and a
residential area in London.