English Courts acknowledge the power of Facebook in riots

Two young men have been jailed for four years at Chester Crown Court for inciting rioting and looting on Facebook in the recent outbreak of civil disorder in England.  The swiftness of this justice (the men pleaded guilty) and the length of the sentences has surprised many and is intended as a powerful signal to the public that the courts are aware of the strength of public feeling.

These are severe sentences - the longest so far handed out in the civil disorder - and longer than sentences given for actually rioting and looting.  They are a recognition by the Court of the power of social media to organise violence on a large scale.

But as well as being used to promote violence and disorder, social media has shown itself to be a powerful tool for the police in identifying and tracing criminals.

The swift actions of the courts fit a good pattern for crisis management and communications.

Leadership and decision making should always drive communications.  Communications without action lacks integrity and will never be strategic.

The ideal order is Communicate - Decisions - Communicate - Action - Communicate:

1.  Communicate - acknowledge the problem and express feeling and empathy with those affected

2.  Decision making - decide how you are going to deal with the crisis (in this case tough swift consequences for looters and rioters after the riots)

3.  Communicate what you are going to do (ie the decisions)

4.  Take the action you have decided upon (in this case swift justice)

5.  Communicate the actions you have taken.

Britain is currently in the next stage of this process:

6.  Decide what you are going to do to prevent a recurrence of the crisis situation

7.  Communicate what you have decided.

8.  Implement your decisions

9.  Communicate how you have implemented your decisions.

Things go wrong when this order gets jumbled up.  Communicating without decisions being taken (as was the case in the riots when the decision makers were on holiday and were slow to get off their sun loungers) or taking decisions and failing to communicate them.  Often decision-makers cannot agree and communicators are exposed when they do not have clear messages.

Life in England is returning to normal.  Tonight on the BBC, there is a nail-biting competition which has had me on the edge of my seat.   It is a cake-baking competition, and the winner must bake a perfect cup cake.  It is such a great antidote to all the violence and anger of the past week.  (Getting excited about baking is an English thing).

Meanwhile we do not forget the innocent citizens who lost their lives in the riots - including three young men who were killed as they stood guard over a place of religious worship in Birmingham, and a man who was murdered as he tried to put out a fire in Ealing West London.

Those who incited the violence and others who were rioting and looting will be out of prison before long and can rebuild their lives.    When the news crews move on, the families of those who were murdered will serve a life sentence of loss and bereavement.