020 7840 6110
Both our Director and Trustee have been quoted in The Economist in an article about the continued use of the gang matrix by the Metropolitan Police.
The gang matrix has received national press coverage this week after Amnesty International produced a report highlighting the high numbers of ethnic minorities on the matrix.
Amnesty International has, this week, accused the Metropolitan Police of violating the human rights of predominantly black boys and men through continued use of the gang violence matrix.
The report references our research from 2016 with Becky Clarke and Patrick Williams, Dangerous Associations: Joint Enterprise, Gangs and Racism.
Joint Enterprise was back in the news last week with an article by Harry Stopes, which cites our work on racism, joint enterprise and gangs.
Our research on the toxic combination of racist 'gang' stereotyping by the police and unfair joint enterprise convictions, published last year, was referenced earlier this week by Lucy Powell, the MP for Manchester Central.
The Centre is delighted to report that Becky Clarke and Patrick Williams have won a 2016 Knowledge Exchange Award at Manchester Metropolitan University for Dangerous Associations: Joint Enterprise, gangs and racism, commissioned and published by the Centre in January 2016.
The MP for Streatham, Chuka Umunna, cited our research on joint enterprise and gangs in a debate yesterday in parliament on 'Gangs and serious youth violence'.
Commenting on our research, Mr Umunna argued that using the term 'gang' was unhelpful and stigmatising:
On Friday, 29 January Chuka Umunna MP led a debate in parliament on gangs and youth violence in London where he referenced our recent report on Joint Enterprise, gangs and racism. Reflecting on the findings, he agreed the term 'gang' was problematic.
He said:
On 25 and 26 of January, the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies held three events to launch publication Dangerous associations: Joint enterprise, gangs and racism researched and written by Patrick Williams and Becky Clarke of Manchester Metropolitan University.
This report by Patrick Williams and Becky Clarke of Manchester Metropolitan University offers a troubling exposé of the use of collective punishment against black and minority ethnic people, based on racism, rumour and innuendo.
The Met police attracted criticism after sending a letter to 24 young people in Brent - all believed to be black - demanding they attend a community meeting or be treated like law-breakers, The Guardian reports. The 'gang call-in' letter was sent on 19 August following a stabbing in the area.
