in VOA Special English.This week, Britainfaced its worst riotssince the nineteen eighties.The unrest began in Londonand spread to other cities,including Manchester,Birmingham and Liverpool.Police have been launching raids,making arrests and studying imagesfrom security cameras.Officials charged hundreds of peoplewith disorder, violenceand stealing from looted stores.Police saida sixty-eight-year-old manbecame the fifth person to dieas a result of the violence.He was attacked during the riots.The rioting began last Saturdayafter a peaceful demonstrationover the deadly police shootingof a twenty-nine-year-old man.The shooting happened last weekin a poor neighborhoodin north London.Rioters burned buildings and cars,broke into hundreds of storesand fought with police.Britain had its first calm nighton Wednesday.Sixteen thousand police officerswill remain on duty in Londonthrough the coming days.This is the most ever during peacetime.Prime Minister David Cameron sayshe will seek advicefrom American citiesthat have fought gang violence.These include Boston,Los Angeles and New York.Mr. Cameron returned earlyfrom a vacation to dealwith the unrest.He said he was consideringinterfering with electronic devicesand websites that riotershave used to organize their activities.DAVID CAMERON: "Free flow of informationcan be used for goodbut it can also be used for ill.So we are working with the police,the intelligence servicesand industry to look at whetherit would be right to stop peoplefrom communicating via these websitesand services when we knowthey are plotting violence,disorder and criminality."Mr. Cameron spoke Thursdayat an emergency meeting of parliament.He said the violencewas not political but criminal.DAVID CAMERON: "Mr. Speaker,we will not put up with thisin our country.We will not allow a culture of fearto exist on our streets,and we will do whatever it takesto restore law and orderand to rebuild our communities."In Birmingham, three Pakistani menwere killed Wednesdaywhen a car struck themas they tried to protect businessesin their community.Hours later, Tariq Jahan,the father of twenty-one-year-oldvictim Haroon Jahan,appealed for calm.TARIQ JAHAN: "Basically,I lost my son.Blacks, Asians, whites-- we all live in the same community.Why do we have to kill one another?What started these riots,and what's escalated?Why are we doing this?"Many people blamed the unreston high unemployment,slow economic recoveryand cuts to public servicesby the new British government.Mr. Cameron blamed iton selfishness,lack of responsibility,poor discipline in schoolsand bad parenting.Chris Hamnett lives in north London,not far from some of the worst rioting.CHRIS HAMNETT: "Essentially,what we've seen is riotingfor fun and profit.This is not people expressing their angeragainst an oppressive state.This is people thinking it wouldbe nice to get a slice of the action."The riots were centeredin neighborhoods with large Africanand Caribbean populations.Both groups have a historyof tensions with the police.Basani Mabyalane lives in the area.BASANI MABYALANE: "I feel there ismaybe more that could be doneto empower the young people because,from what I saw yesterday,to me it looked like they don'thave much to do.They have got the time.They have got the energy.But they are using that energyon negative things."In the north Londonneighborhood of Haringey,some young peopleare using their energyto do positive things.They have formed a groupcalled HYPE:Haringey's Young People Empowered.One of those young people is Erica Lopez.She thinks a majority of the rioterssimply wanted to loot.But she says she understandsand shares the anger of many ofher young neighbors over a lack of jobsand cuts in youth services.ERICA LOPEZ: "The government reallyneeds to actually take timeand listen to these young peoplebecause for a long time they have beencrying in silence saying,'This is what matters to me.'They have really been cryingfor a long time."And that's IN THE NEWSin VOA Special English.