1011, a drill group from London, have been banned from making or performing music without the permission of London police, The Guardian reports, describing the decision as a "legally unprecedented move" for the city.
The Kingston Crown Court gave its ruling on June 15. For three years, each of 1011's five members must seek permission before creating music. They are prohibited from rapping about violence or death in their lyrics, and "mentioning named postcodes in a gang context." The group must inform the police 24 hours before releasing new music videos, and 48 hours before any performance or filming, which police must also be present for.
The five members of 1011 were arrested in November 2017 and charged with conspiracy to commit violent disorder. The group admitted to the charge, leading to the new court order.
Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of Index on Censorship, called the order problematic for a number of reasons. "Banning a kind of music is not the way to handle ideas or opinions that are distasteful or disturbing,” he told The Guardian in a statement. “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. We need to tackle actual violence, not ideas and opinions.”