Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence exists to demonstrate that the Metropolitan Police Service's Gangs Matrix has been successful in tackling serious violent crimes such as knife and gun crimes.

The Government is aware of the Amnesty International’s report, Trapped in the Matrix, Secrecy, stigma and bias in the Met’s Gangs Database.The gang violence matrix is an operational tool used by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the findings and recommendations are directed to the MPS. Any assessment of the effectiveness of the tool would be an operational matter for the police.

This Government is committed to addressing the recent increases in gun crime, knife crime and homicide. We recently published our new Serious Violence Strategy. The strategy sets out the evidence on risk and protective factors for involvement in serious violence and the available evidence on effective interventions. The strategy puts a new emphasis on early intervention with young people at risk of becoming involved in crime and working together with communities to tackle the recent increases in serious violence.