October 25, 2019 Research and Evidence The Matrix in Context: Taking Stock of Police Gang Databases in London and Beyond Journal articlesBy James Densley, David Pyrooz Download Technology has ushered in a new era of intelligence-led and “big data” policing, and police gang databases are part of this paradigmatic shift. In recent years, however, gang databases have come under intense public scrutiny. For example, Amnesty International and others argue that London’s Gangs Matrix is discriminatory and violates data-protection laws. This paper draws on evidence and examples from a wide range of sources—gang legislation, surveys of young people, police gang records, and research on gangs—to put the Matrix controversy into broader context, and to adjudicate between common validity and civil liberties critiques of gang databases. We find there is merit to civil liberties concerns and, to a lesser extent, claims that gang data are invalid and unreliable, but the picture is more complex than law enforcement or advocacy groups make it out to be. We conclude that eliminating gang databases entirely could have the unintended consequence of making it more difficult to understand and respond to violence in communities. Instead, we must learn from best practices and improve gang databases by better codifying gang criteria, changing notification rules, contesting designations, and standardizing sunset periods
November 13, 2018 Research and Evidence The Black Criminal Other as an Object of Social Control By Patrick Williams, Becky Clarke DisproportionalityGangsRace / ethnicityViolence
September 1, 2017 Research and Evidence Journey to Justice: Prioritising the wellbeing of children involved in criminal justice processes relating to sexual exploitation and abuse By Hannah Marsden Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)Health and wellbeingParents / CarerPolicing
February 7, 2022 Reconfiguration of services, Research and Evidence The Adolescent Brain AdolescentsRisks / risk takingTransitional SafeguardingTrauma- Informed