In their attempt to try and curb the rising level of street violence found in the streets of London, the Metropolitan Police have gone begun targeting artists from the U.K. drill scene, which they believe is responsible for the violence.
It began with simply having their music videos deleted from YouTube, but at a recent court case for UK drill group 1011, the police took it even further, requesting that the group be banned from expressing violent lyrics in their music in the future. While it was previously reported that the judge had thrown out the request, a new report from The Guardian states that it was in fact granted, and that the group will now be unable to record their music in the near future.
The group will not be allowed to mention death or injury in their lyrics, nor mentioning any post codes in a gang context. They will also be forced to notify police within 24 hours of releasing a new music video, and will have to give them 48 hours notice for any performance or recording, and must allow officers to attend.
The move is unprecedented for the country, and is receiving outrage from censorship activists. "Banning a kind of music is not the way to handle ideas or opinions that are distasteful or disturbing," said Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of Index on Censorship campaign group. "This isn’t going to address the issues that lead to the creation of this kind of music, nor should we be creating a precedent in which certain forms of art which include violent images or ideas are banned."
Members of the group are currently serving prison sentences ranging from 10 months to three-and-a-half years. The court order will be active for the next three years.