The High Court (Eady J) has granted permission to apply for judicial review of the Metropolitan Police’s deployment of so-called Safer Schools Officers across London. The challenge is to the Met’s alleged failure to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty in exercising these functions. It is argued by the Claimant that the Met has not evaluated whether the presence of police officers in schools may have disproportionality negative consequences for black and ethnic minority boys and/or children with special educational needs and disabilities, causing them to be drawn into the criminal justice system unnecessarily. Central to the claim is the duty of inquiry – it is argued that the Met is failing to obtain data enabling it to analyse the equalities implications of deploying officers in schools. The case will proceed to a substantive hearing later this year.
Sarah Hannett and Aidan Wills are involved in this case, instructed by Dan Rosenberg of Simpson Millar.