There is a pressing need for credible research into the causes and the consequences of the recent riots. A new joint study between the LSE and the Guardian aims to address this.

A month on from August’s unprecedented riots in England, we can begin to ask the host of questions needed to uncover why they occurred and what they mean. Tim Newburn and the LSE’s Department of Social Policy, together with the Guardian newspaper, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Open Society Foundation are beginning a three-month in-depth study into the causes and consequences of the recent riots.