THE Met Police’s controversial “gangs matrix” disproportionately targets young black men and is both ineffective and counterproductive, according to a report published today.

StopWatch, which campaigns against the disproportionate use of stop-and-search powers, said its research found that the “overpolicing of the black community” was “alienating people and fostering animosity.”

The charity said 3,800 people listed as “gang nominals” on the Met’s Gangs Violence Matrix were “labelled and exposed to an increase in potential unlawful stop-and-search encounters and subjected to draconian civil law and social welfare constraints.”