Select committee: Home Affairs Committee
Conclusion 60
Third Report - The Macpherson Report: Twenty-two years on
Published 30 Jul 2021
Paragraph 466
Addressed to Home Office
Home Affairs Committee The Macpherson Report: twenty-two years on All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Metropolitan Police developed the Gangs Violence Matrix as a new way to provide intelligence to tackle serious gang related violence and crime in London, but without robust systems in place to consider racial disproportionality on the database, ensure proper oversight or sustain community confidence. As a result, considerable community concern grew about the use of the database and the high levels of racial disproportionality. The MOPAC review of the database and the commitments since by MOPAC and the Metropolitan Police Service to reform the Gangs Violence Matrix since 2018 are welcome. It is important that MOPAC’s commitment to provide oversight and monitor disproportionality on the Matrix is followed through as part of wider efforts to monitor the potential for racial bias in policing tools as a matter of course.
From: Home Affairs Committee, Third Report - The Macpherson Report: Twenty-two years on (HC 139), paragraph 466, 30 July 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 26 May 2022 (deadline 30 September 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the Committee's work and acknowledges that "there is more to be done" on trust and confidence in policing, while declining to set recruitment targets or establish a new Race Equality Commissioner.
- On recruitment, the Government does not agree that setting diversity recruitment targets "is the right lever", citing differing local populations, and says it believes the existing framework is "the most effective way" of driving change.
- On proposed changes to the Equality Act 2010, Ministers say "more evidence" of the benefit of the Metropolitan Police proposals would be required before a proposal to make temporary amendments "would be considered".
- On stop and search, it commits to a new framework for scrutinising use of police powers "by summer 2023". On the Committee's call for a new independent study, it says it wishes to allow Inclusive Britain actions to be implemented "before we consider further commissioning research".
- It does not consider a new Race Equality Commissioner for policing "necessary", pointing to existing oversight through the National Policing Board, HMICFRS and Police and Crime Commissioners.