Riots prove penal system is broken, says Ken Clarke

JUSTICE SECRETARY Ken Clarke made waves today by saying that many of those who rioted recently in London and other cities came from a "feral underclass" that was "cut off from the mainstream in everything but its materialism". Writing in the Guardian, he also said that nearly three-quarters of those charged with riot offences aged 18 or over already had a prior conviction. The riots, he argued, were therefore the "legacy of a broken penal system".
 
Punishment is not enough

Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith cautioned that punishment alone for rioters "will not do". He told the BBC's Today programme: "If all we do is punish people and arrest them that alone will not do." He added that "the re-offending rates in the UK are ludicrous" but said: "No one is beyond help".
 
Not the whole story

But are we getting the whole story? asks Fraser Nelson of the Spectator. "How many of those convicted finished school? How many were brought up in a workless household, how many by a lone parent, how many in one of London's welfare ghettoes?" Nelson believes there is much more to learn about the riots, but unfortunately people are simply repeating whatever they thought before, but more loudly. "This is not the way that lessons are learned."
 
Feral is a dangerous, lazy term

Warwick University philosopher Angie Hobbs was concerned with what she called "inaccurate, lazy and dangerous" terms such as "feral underclass". During a debate on the riots, hosted by the Today programme, she commented that few people are without a desire for honour and respect, but the danger comes when people's natural desire for honour and respect is "divorced from rational guidance" and left to run amok. "People seek to get honour and status from where they see honour and status residing in society as a whole…. As a society, we are rewarding materialistic greed, not just with money, but with status."
 
This is dehumanising language

Ken Clarke's comments ignited criticism in the Twittersphere. Owen Jones @OwenJones84, author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class thought Clarke's language was disgraceful: "Feral underclass is a step up from 'undeserving poor'. In other words, the poor aren't just undeserving - they're animals." Stephen Turner @Stevil54, agreed: "We'll be back to 'swinish multitude' at this rate." ·