The Metropolitan Police Service has suggested that its controversial Gangs Violence Matrix targets Black people because it believes they are more likely to commit crimes.
In a letter to the Metropolitan Police threatening legal action, seen by The Independent, human rights organisation Liberty warned that the matrix discriminates against ethnic minority groups, especially Black people who are disproportionately represented on the database at 79 per cent.
Confirming that a legal challenge against the database has been brought against the service by Liberty, a human rights charity, the force said the database is “an important tool which identifies the most harmful people we know to be involved in gang-related crime”.
“We know that young men; and in particular young Black men continue to be over represented on the GVM. Sadly, this is also reflective of the levels of violent crime that affect them – both in terms of victimisation and offending,” a spokesperson said.
“A significant proportion of the most serious crime on our streets, including homicide and shootings are committed by gangs and their members – often inextricably linked to drug dealing and county lines – the Gangs Violence Matrix (GVM) helps us to understand the scale of their activity,” a spokesperson said.
“Gangs target vulnerable young people, drawing them into a life of drug dealing, sexual exploitation and violence, from which they struggle to escape. The GVM is instrumental in reducing the reoffending and harm to those people on it - as was acknowledged by the Mayor’s review in 2018.”
Liberty argues that the matrix is based on vague criteria in which people can be added because they have had contact with others the police suspect are gang members or have even been victims themselves.
Meanwhile, the Met Police say that the GVM presents opportunities for the police to help those tangled up in the gang life to leave it behind.
“We recognise that this remains a source of concern for some communities – and in particular for Black communities whose trust and confidence we are determined to increase further so that all communities have the same level of trust in the Met,” a spokesperson said.
“We are more transparent than ever in publishing what we can with the public on our use of the GVM and our data, information and impact assessments are available on the Met website.”
The police force’s comprehensive data strategy and policy sets out the terms, guidance and governance for the use of the GVM, as well as storage and security requirements, which officers adhere to, the force maintain
Campaigners have warned that the database breaches the Public Sector Equality Duty for public authorities to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and advance equality of opportunity.
Those who appear on the database may be subject to “enforcement actions”, including exclusion from benefits, housing and education, as well as increased stop-and-search while information on the database is also shared with other bodies such as immigration enforcement.
“Across all the London boroughs 12 senior officers oversee access and use of the GVM, which includes that any necessary sharing of information with trusted partners - for example, to help someone exit the gang life-style or to protect the public - is strictly governed by our data policy and data sharing agreements,” said the spokesperson
“We are determined to protect all of London’s communities from gangs and the violence they bring to our streets and the lives they destroy.”
Liberty, however, told The Independent that the Matrix is “fuelled heavily by racist stereotypes which aren’t borne out in reality”.
“Arguments about these policing tools being used to protect communities are nothing but offensive, and do not reflect the real experiences of those being regularly harassed by police due to being on the matrix,” a spokesperson said.
“It is an undeniable fact that the Gangs Matrix is not evidence based, and Black people are overrepresented on the Matrix, both compared to the general population and to the rates of conviction for relevant offences.
“For years, communities of colour, particularly young Black men, have been subject to overbearing and oppressive policing. Not only do we know how traumatic being subject to incessant and stigmatising police interactions can be, being on the matrix has serious impacts on people’s lives, including benefits sanctions, eviction, and exclusion from education and housing.
“Discriminatory tools like the Gangs Matrix divide communities, sow mistrust and rubber-stamp the harassment of young Black men. Rather than asking the police to solve problems which they often worsen, policymakers should be tackling these root causes and supporting communities to flourish, with solutions based in health, education, housing and social welfare.”
