Black people nearly twice as likely (87% more likely) to be tagged than white people.
Black Equity Organisation (BEO) has reached a settlement in their judicial review claim against the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on the global positioning system (GPS) knife crime tagging programme. MOPAC data shows that Black people were nearly twice as likely (87% more likely) to be selected for the electronic monitoring scheme than white people. This settlement seeks to eliminate that bias and discrimination and was brought with the support of Liberty.
The settlement includes a rapid review of the programme to address concerns of racial disproportionality to ensure fair and unbiased decision-making in the selection of those for tagging. Measures include:
The settlement also included MOPAC and MOJ inviting BEO to be involved in the consultation on knife tagging guidance for probation officers. BEO has also been invited to sit on the Electronic Monitoring Advisory Group as part of the settlement of the claim. This will enable the organisation to raise any issues and challenge any disproportionality where it may arise. BEO has previously highlighted racial disproportionality in the use of technology in the criminal justice system.
The settlement underscores a commitment to addressing systemic inequalities and upholding principles of fairness and justice within probation and crime prevention initiatives.
You can see our CEO Timi Okuwa talk about this case on ITV.
Timi Okuwa CEO, Black Equity Organisation said:
BEO is committed to challenging structural race discrimination within the criminal justice system. It’s well known that those disparities range from stop and search, right the way through to sentencing. But racial disparities do not stop there. BEO partnered with Liberty to challenge the way in which the MOPAC knife crime tagging programme was being run across London boroughs. The data was compelling – Black people imprisoned for a knife crime related offence were far more likely to be selected to be part of the tagging programme at the end of their sentence.
This action is aligned with BEO’s core mission of tackling systemic institutional racism within the criminal justice system. We welcome this positive collaboration with MOPAC and the Ministry of Justice.
Kehinde Adeogun, Director of Legal Service and Policy, Black Equity Organisation said:
The proposed review and the discussions that we have had with MOPAC and the MoJ will mean that there will be a real focus on investigating racial disproportionality in the selection for tagging, the use of electronic monitoring and the relevance of training. These initiatives will result in greater transparency in the tagging programme. Ultimately there must be positive change in the way the programme is run going forward.
Megan Goulding, Lawyer at Liberty, said:
For years, the programme of electronically tagging people who leave prison displayed worrying levels of discrimination against Black people and was unlawful. We’re grateful to the Mayor’s Office and Ministry of Justice for acknowledging the issue and developing a plan to attempt to root out bias.
We’ve supported Black Equity Organisation in this vital step in its mission to dismantle systemic racism in the UK.
