I'm interested in history," I said. "Why don't you tell me what happened." "Why would a young man like you be interested in history?" "So I can avoid… - Ben Aaronovitch

Nothing attracts the powerful quite like more power.

Nobody had a clue what had happened, so the pundits were out in force, explaining how the riot was caused by whatever sociopolitical factor their latest book was pushing. It was certainly a searing indictment of some aspect of modern society—if only we knew what.

It was already one of the hazards of being police that you became suspicious of the everyday. You didn’t have to spend much time on the job before realising that professional criminals are comparatively rare and that crime is something committed by ordinary people.