Dealing with riots
The UK needs clearer sentencing guidelines
Following an outbreak of rioting in Tottenham, and its spread within the capital and then to provincial cities, the UK witnessed a four-night orgy of violent disorder and looting
Former US police chief and organisers of crime projects to contribute amid concerns from Labour MPs about police and government response
UK justice secretary says the violence and unrest that flared last month was caused by ‘feral underclass’ which cannot be prevented from re-offending
The Mayor of London tells MPs that he backs Ken Clarke, the justice secretary, on the importance of tackling the penal system
FT analysis shows that two-thirds of all London suspects live in neighbourhoods with below-average income
Defendants who deny the charges brought against them are likely to have to wait until next year to face jury trials unless cases are fast-tracked
An interactive map showing the boroughs of London and other areas within the UK worst affected by the violence, along with deprivation rankings and unemployment data
The UK needs clearer sentencing guidelines
The power theory states, broadly, that people get what they grab: from the forest, the markets, or the shop window, writes John Kay
Like London, innovative US cities have the highest protest levels and among the lowest levels of social capital, writes Richard Florida
The prime minister has focused relentlessly on a tough criminal justice response. Now a more balanced approach is needed, writes James Blitz
In his haste to be seen as doing something, David Cameron appears to be taking a leaf out of Margaret Thatcher’s book, bringing business leaders from the US to sort out industries
Bringing down youth unemployment is just as crucial a post-crisis challenge for global leaders as repairing their countries’ public finances

The recent urban riots have revealed the British policing system as untenable, too weak to confront the society that has grown around it, writes Christopher Caldwell
Rioters in low-end retailers engaged in a new practice of ‘trying before you loot’ – a form of extreme consumerism, writes Gautam Malkani
A bad week for Britain also contained crumbs of hope
Limiting use of social media by thugs and and looters would not only be wrong but also ineffective and counter-productive, writes Andrew Hill