August 2011: London erupted into some of the worst rioting the city has seen for decades. Shop windows were smashed, buildings were set alight and the police struggled to cope.

In the aftermath, both politicians and the media were been quick to point the finger at a broken society and an immoral underclass but few commentators have produced any evidence to back up their claims. Their opinions are often based on longstanding misconceptions of why people riot and therefore the solutions they propose are unlikely to be effective.

So what have we learnt from the study of past riots? How does this mesh with what we know so far of the present riots and the implications for how we should respond? This e-book, authored by worldwide experts in crowd behaviour, riots and policing, will contextualise what happened during the 2011 London riots and look at a range of responses. Based on extensive experience and research studying crowds and riots around the world, this e-book will challenge the myths of crowd behaviour portrayed in the press, look at how the police and society responded and suggest strategies to help avoid similar events occurring in the future.