Fields of fire' : crime, dissent and social isolation in South-Western Sydney

In early 2005 Macquarie Fields in Sydney's South West became the site of violent clashes between large groups of young people and NSW police. The trouble followed the deaths of two teenagers in a car that crashed as the result of police pursuit. Both the accident and the 'riots' occurred on the Glennquarrie Estate, a large public housing estate in a socio-economically disadvantaged, and socially isolated area. This article draws on qualitative research conducted at the Glennquarrie Estate at Macquarie Fields in 2002-2003, two years prior to the riots. This data is contrasted here with the political and media discourse which followed the 2005 'riots'. The article uses the framework developed around the dynamics of social exclusion. This enables a revaluation of the 'riots', and what may have led to them, in ways that go beyond either questions of uncontrollable kids, irresponsible parents, or even simply poor policing.