Anatomy of a Riot

The violence at this summer's World Cup soccer games in France--an Algerian spectator was stabbed to death by an English fan, for example--is no isolated event. Sports riots injure hundreds, perhaps thousands, each year.

Who are these rioters? Studies show that they are mostly young single men on the mar gins of society, less educated, often unemployed and usually anti-social. They also tend to have a spontaneous nature and readily take risks to meet their need for exciting experiences. Most likely to escalate crowd disturbances are men who attend events solely to watch fights and those who have recently been involved in an altercation.

Such people do not, however, form the majority of spectators. Recently, Anu Mustonen, Ph.D., of the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland and I have shifted our focus from the actions of rioters to the roles of other bystanders. On questioning 127 men at a hockey game about how they would react if a riot broke out, we found that 61% would look on, while only 2% would join in.

But a surprising 26% said they would intervene to restore order. These would-be peacemakers were not only less aggressive and impulsive than the rioters, but were also slightly larger and stronger, a fact that reduces their chance of being injured and increases their likelihood of being successful.

Since peacemakers far outnumber those intent on wreaking havoc, we would do well to recognize their efforts and even mobilize them into a force for crowd control. Unlike police and security personnel, they are already on the scene and ideally situated to head off a disturbance.

Yet they are rarely rewarded for their pains. During a riot, police are often unable to distinguish between those resolved to help them and those intent on hindering. In an unfortunate twist, peacemakers often figure prominently on the list of those arrested.

PHOTO (COLOR): The violence at this summer's World Cup soccer games in France--an Algerian spectator was stabbed to death by an English fan.

By Gordon Russell, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Lethbridge, Canada

Adapted by Ph.D.