Individuals on the Violence Harm Assessment database
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.037135
I note you seek access to the following information:
- The number of individuals on the Violence Harm Assessment database at the point of each quarterly update since the tool was launched.
- The age, gender and ethnicity of each individual currently included on the Violence Harm Assessment database.
Please provide this information in spreadsheet format where each row corresponds to a particular individual and includes the requested demographic information. - The number of times BCUs have contacted Met Intelligence to suggest an individual’s removal from the Violence Harm Assessment database.
- The number of times individuals have been removed from the Violence Harm Assessment database following a BCUs recommendation.
Decision
I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 40(2)&(3) - Personal Information
Reason for decision
Before I explain the reasons for the decisions I have made in relation to your request, I thought that it would be helpful if I outline the parameters set out by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) within which a request for information can be answered.
When a request is made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act), a public authority must inform you, when permitted, whether the information requested is held. It must then communicate that information to you. If a public authority decides that it is cannot comply with all or part of a request, it must cite the appropriate section or exemption of the Act and provide you with a suitable explanation. It is important to note that the Act is designed to place information into the public domain, that is, once access to information is granted to one person under the Act, it is then considered public information and must be communicated to any individual should a request be received.
Section 40(2)&(3) - Personal Information - The Freedom of Information Act provides an exemption for Personal Data and this is known as the section 40 exemption.
The information sought under your Freedom of Information request:
- The age, gender and ethnicity of each individual currently included on the Violence Harm
Assessment database, where each row corresponds to a particular individual and includes the requested demographic information.
We consider to be Personal Data.
Where the request is seeking access to third party personal data the section 40(2) exemption may be engaged.
In order to apply the Section 40(2) exemption, the disclosure of the requested information must satisfy either the first, second or third conditions as defined by subsections 3A, 3B and 4A of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (as amended by Section 58 of the Data Protection Act 2018).
The first condition ensures that the exemption would apply in circumstances where the disclosure of the information would breach any of the Data Protection Act 2018 principles.
There are six Data Protection principles set out in the 2018 Act and these can be found at section 34.
In this instance I have decided that the disclosure of the Personal Data would be incompatible with the first Data Protection principle which states that the processing (in this case the disclosure) of the data must be both lawful and fair.
You have asked the MPS to disclose the information relating to question 2:
I have considered the following information below:
- The age, gender and ethnicity of each individual currently included on the Violence Harm
o Assessment database, where each row corresponds to a particular individual and
o includes the requested demographic information. - The above requests for information in parts, is exempt by virtue of the following exemptions:
- Section 40(2) & (3A)(a) - Personal Data
You have requested specific recorded data, on each individuals currently on the Violence Harm Assessment database, where each row corresponds to a particular individual and includes the requested demographic information.
This information is not suitable for public consumption. Should the MPS publish the requested data as specified within the scope of your request, it would be at such a level that would make the identification of individuals extremely possible. To produce and publish this information would not be lawful, fair or in line with our processing commitments. Thus, disclosure of the information requested, is exempt in accordance with Section 40(2)(3A)(a) of the Act – Personal Information.
Disclosure
In response to question 2 above. I have disclosed some of the requested information.
The age, gender and ethnicity of each individual currently included on the Violence Harm Assessment database.
| Ethnic Group | No of Individuals |
|---|---|
| Asian | 91 |
| Black | 942 |
| White | 329 |
| Other | 51 |
| Age Group | No of Individuals |
|---|---|
| U18 | 413 |
| 18-24 | 607 |
| 25-30 | 118 |
| 30s | 169 |
| 40s | 70 |
| 50s | 30 |
| 60+ | 6 |
| Gender | No of Individuals |
|---|---|
| Female | 64 |
| Male | 1349 |
Q1 - The number of individuals on the Violence Harm Assessment database at the point of each quarterly update since the tool was launched.
December 2023 VHA – 1490
March 2024 VHA – 1413
Q3 - The number of times BCUs have contacted Met Intelligence to suggest an individual’s removal from the Violence Harm Assessment database.
There have been five requests for removal.
Q4 - The number of times individuals have been removed from the Violence Harm Assessment database following a BCUs recommendation.
All five of those requested to be removed, have been removed.
INFORMATION
Met to use Violence Harm Assessment to identify most harmful individuals in London
Met to use Violence Harm Assessment to identify most harmful individuals in London
Following extensive consultation, the Met will use the Violence Harm Assessment (VHA) instead of the Gangs Violence Matrix (GVM) to identify and risk assess the most harmful individuals who are involved in violence in London.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said:
In October 2022, we committed to the complete redesign of the Gangs Violence Matrix.
We have been considering how we can best make assessments and meet operational challenges. This has been informed by the Commissioner’s vision to become more evidence-based and data driven in our approach, as set out in our plan, A New Met for London.
We have listened to the concerns about disproportionality on the Gangs Violence Matrix (GVM) and have spent the past year engaging with community members and relevant stakeholders, to ensure we have complete transparency about our new approach to tackling the most violent and harmful offenders in London.
From Tuesday 13 February, the Gangs Violence Matrix will no longer exist.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
The Met has reached an important decision to move to a new more targeted approach to dealing with violence in the capital.
The Violence Harm Assessment (VHA) is a significant change that will help the Met pursue the most prolific offenders and, where appropriate, provide an opportunity to work with partners to support those who are vulnerable to violence, gangs and criminal exploitation.
But there is still a lot of work to do and Londoners will rightly judge this new approach on results. I will continue to support and hold the Met to account to ensure the new approach is effective in tackling gang violence and has the confidence of all of our diverse communities as we work to build a safer and fairer London for everyone.”
During the consultation, it became clear community members felt violence overall was the overwhelming concern, rather than street gang violence in isolation.
The Met has decided to decommission the Gangs Violence Matrix and move to prioritising violence through an adapted existing tool, the Violence Harm Assessment.
Where individuals come to notice, the Violence Harm Assessment can also provide an opportunity to work with partners to support those who are vulnerable or criminally exploited and to divert them from a criminal lifestyle. The scoring for the Violence Harm Index uses academically tested methodologies developed by the Cambridge Harm Index and Office of National Statistics Scoring.
The Violence Harm Assessment will complement the Met's ongoing work in this area by identifying violence linked to increased gang tensions in London. Police forces need to prioritise finite proactive resources, this tool allows the Met to be as precise as possible
in focussing on those who do the most harm. Gang-related crime will now be treated with the similar level of precision-led policing as seen in the V100 project, which identifies the most dangerous and violent sexual predators.
Each area in London will use the information on the Violence Harm Assessment to prioritise police resource towards the most harmful individuals. Identifying the criminals that cause the most harm will always be a priority for the Met. It will enable the Met to spot patterns of offending and save lives being lost to violence.
For more information visit:
Violence Harm Assessment | Met Police