The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has announced the discontinuation of its controversial Gangs Violence Matrix (GVM) and its replacement with a new tool called the Violence Harm Assessment (VHA).
The GVM was developed in the aftermath of the 2011 London riots to identify and assess the risk posed by individuals involved in gang violence across the city. However, concerns were raised over its disproportionality, leading to a legal challenge by civil liberties group Liberty and a subsequent decision to redesign the tool in 2022.
According to a notice on the MPS website, the VHA is used to identify and assess the risk posed by individuals involved in violence in London, with a focus on the most harmful and violent offenders. It also provides an opportunity to work with partners to support vulnerable individuals and divert them from a criminal lifestyle. The VHA uses academically tested methodologies developed by the Cambridge Harm Index and Office of National Statistics Scoring.
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