 Cardiff police were equipped with full riot gear during the unrest, the first time in the force's history that the equipment had been used, and the force's helicopter was deployed.The unrest in Ely was linked to similar disturbances in other parts of Britain.In the weeks around the Ely riots, there had been riots in Handsworth, Birmingham and on the Blackbird Leys Estate in Oxford, linked with social factors such as high rates of unemployment and "disaffected" youth.