Met Police admits Gangs Matrix database is racist and violates civil liberties
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Occurred: February 2022
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London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) settled a legal challenge that accused its Gangs Matrix database of racial discrimination, over-policing and
Liberty argued that the Gangs Matrix database discriminated against Black people, who were disproportionately represented on it, by breaching Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Article 14 of the ECHR and section 19 of the Equality Act 2010 - as there was statistical evidence that it included a disproportionate number of Black people.
The legal challenge argued that the personal data of those on the database was shared broadly with third parties – putting them at risk of over-policing, school exclusion, eviction and, in some cases, of being stripped of welfare benefits, deportation or even children being taken into care.
The MPS conceded that the Matrix was unlawful and admitted that it breached the right to a private and family life. It also agreed to remove the majority of individuals from the database, to inform people on the database who their data had been shared with, and to replace the GVM with an adapted violence harm assessment (VHA).
Operator: Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)
Developer: Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)
Country: UK
Sector: Govt - police
Purpose: Predict gang violence risk
Technology: Ranking algorithm
Issue: Bias/discrimination; Human/civil rights
Transparency: Governance
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Research, advocacy 🧮
Liberty, Civil Liberties Trust. HELP FIGHT THE MET’S DISCRIMINATORY GANGS MATRIX
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Type: Incident
Published: August 2024
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