Met Police agree to overhaul ‘racist’ Gangs Matrix after landmark legal challenge supported by Law for Change
The Metropolitan Police has admitted that discriminatory and unlawful database needs ‘wholesale change’ in a decision affects thousands of young people and BAME communities across the UK
Published on 11th November by Flo Hutchings for Law for Change
Law for Change was set up with a simple mission: to back cases with a tangible moral purpose, improving access to justice for under-represented communities that stand to benefit from legal actions we support and the precedents they set.
Our support on the Gangs Matrix Metropolitan Police shows how a low-cost, high impact legal fund can be instrumental in getting important claims get over the line that otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
Following a landmark legal case brought by Liberty on behalf of Awate Suleiman and UNJUST UK, supported by Law for Change, the Metropolitan Police have conceded that the operation of the Matrix was unlawful. The controversial Gangs Violence Matrix is a system which discriminates against BAME people, with Black men and boys disproportionately represented on the database. The case was due to be held at the Royal Courts of Justice in mid November. However, the Metropolitan Police Service has agreed to an overhaul of the list, with more than a thousand names to be removed as a result of the legal action supported by Law for Change.
At its peak in August 2017 there were 3,881 individuals on the database. The number has now dropped to 1,933 - the lowest since the database was introduced.
In the end, Liberty no longer needed Law for Change’s £12k indemnification pledge with the Met Police agreeing to ‘wholesale changes’ and a “complete redesign" of the database in November 2022. But without our pledge at the time, it would have been hard for them to proceed. This shows the zero-cost, high-impact nature of Law for Change’s work.
In a win for the human rights organisation and its clients, the Met has admitted that the Matrix breached the right to a private and family life. Personal data of those on the Matrix is shared broadly with third parties – putting them at risk of over-policing, school exclusion, eviction, and in some cases being stripped of welfare benefits, deportation or even children being taken into care.
The Met have also accepted that Black people are disproportionately represented on the Matrix and that efforts to address this have not worked, with the latest review of the Matrix showing that 80% of those named on the Matrix were Black.
Liberty challenged the legality of the Matrix on behalf of Awate Suleiman and UNJUST UK, a community interest company challenging injustice in the criminal justice system, on the grounds that it discriminates against Black people, who are disproportionately represented on the Matrix.
Awate Suleiman is a musician and writer who spent years fearing he was on the Matrix and experienced over-policing, including being arrested for offences he did not commit and kept on bail for many months at a time only for charges to be dropped or for him to be found not guilty at court. As a result, he suffered from severe anxiety which at times prevented him from leaving his house. Despite trying for over 30 months to get an answer from the Met as to whether or not he was on the Matrix, it was only when he launched legal proceedings that he was told that he was not it. Liberty said that Awate’s experience shows how difficult it is for any individual to find out about, and thereby challenge, their inclusion on the Matrix.
Now, the Met have agreed that people can apply to be informed if they were on the Matrix, and will only be refused if necessary for limited specified reasons, with the Information Commissioner to review refusals upon request.
As part of the settlement, the Met has also agreed that those removed from the database will be able to apply to find out what data was held on them. However, Liberty have warned that hundreds may never know that their data was held in the first place, and have encouraged those who have experienced repeated stop and search and any of the other ‘enforcement actions’ taken against people on the Matrix to submit a Subject Access Request to the Met to find out if they are or were ever on the Matrix.
Liberty lawyer Lana Adamou said afterwards:
“The indemnity provided by Law for Change gave our clients the protection they needed to pursue their challenge against the Metropolitan Police Service’s racially discriminatory Gangs Matrix. In short, we couldn’t have done it without their support. This case was of significant public interest and thousands of people will now benefit from changes made to the operation of the Matrix as a result.
Without Law for Change, our clients would have faced a choice of either proceeding without costs protection and exposing themselves to significant costs risks, or discontinuing the claim completely. Thanks to Law for Change – in conjunction with other funding sources – they were able to take this landmark legal challenge forward, and win, safe in the knowledge that they did not have to worry about costs. The application process was quick and simple and staff were supportive – which meant we could prioritise the case and client. A huge thank you from our clients and everyone at Liberty”