By Eric King-
The safety of several young people has been put in serious danger after pages from the Met’s Gangs Matrix were “lost” on two separate occasions, photographed and circulated on social media.
In a grand breach being investigated by the Information Commissioner was a page from the top secret document was leaked in May. Further information was again shared in September last year.
The Met has refused to confirm how many identities were revealed, saying only that officers had “risk assessed every individual on the list and taken appropriate action where necessary.The Matrix was set up in the wake of the 2011 London riots and contains information on around 3,800 people, including their believed affiliations and a “harm score” of green, amber or red, to denote how deeply they are considered to be engaged in gang-related activities.
FAILINGS
The data breach was highlighted in a report into failings that led to the brutal murder of 14-year-old Corey Junior Davis, shot dead in Forest Gate playground last September.Cops haveorey was first listed on Newham’s Gangs Matrix in December 2016 as a “green nominal” because authorities believed he was “easily influenced” and “associating with troublemakers”. Seven months later he was raised to amber.
The independent report found pages of the January 2017 Newham Matrix were “shared on social media and accessed by a number of young people” before Corey’s death.
Murdered teenager: Correy Davis
Investigators said there was “no evidence to suggest a causal link between the data breach and Corey’s murder” but added “it is acknowledged there are lessons to be learned”
A report by Tanya O’Carroll, lead researcher on Amnesty International’s report into the Matrix said the data breach was “shocking but not surprising”.
She said: “A lot of the young people on the list will be in the green category and may not have had much interaction with police. Of course a leak like this puts them in serious danger.
“It’s not just the danger of physical harm. If someone sees that a person is on a gangs list that tarnishes them.” A gang member being tarnished is not a legitimate consideration because they have no good reputation to protect. The risk and problem with publishing details of criminals is the risk of leaving them recognizable and vulnerable to targeted attack
O’carroll’s views were echoed by reformed gang member , Sheldon Thomas, founder of training organisation Gangsline. Thomas, a University graduate, was a former gang member who transformed his life with an education and has been committed to inspiring delinquents caught up in gang culture. : “Hundreds of lives have potentially been put at risk.
“It is dangerous for a young person if their name is attached to a gang like that. Rival gangs could see it and say ‘I didn’t know so and so was running with them, let’s sort them out’.
“Someone should have lost their job.
A criminal investigation into how the information came into the public domain was “inconclusive”, a Met spokesman said. He added: “Police have risk assessed every individual on the list and taken appropriate action where necessary.
“The Met has also reviewed its local data sharing practices as a result of this investigation.”
Deputy commissioner for operations at the Information Commissioner’s Office, James Dipple Johnstone said it was working with police “as part of an investigation into their use of a ‘gang database’.”