After the state expressed concerns about women’s safety, federal authorities’ guidance allowing transgender officers to search people of the opposite natural sex has been partially withdrawn.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council announced to The Telegraph that it was conducting a “thorough” review of its recommendations regarding searches carried out by transgender officers. The body stated that forces have been advised to resume their own body search policies in the interim.
Chris Philp, the police minister, stated that transgender officers should be prohibited from searching suspects of the same sex unless they have changed their lawful gender. This led to the review.
Three well-known political organizations wrote to Mr. Philp this weekend,
praising the government for asking the National Police Chiefs Council to “look again” at guidance but insisting that a trans woman police officer shouldn’t be able to strip search a female inmate.
We do not concur with your assertion
“We were pleased to hear you confirm to the Home Affairs Select Committee this week that the government does not support the National Police Chiefs Council’s (NPCC) policy that permits male officers who identify as women to conduct searches of detainees of the opposite sex, including strip and intimate searches,” the letter was signed by the leaders of Sex Matters, the Women’s Rights Network, and Fair Play for Women groups.
They did, however, add, “We do not concur with your statement to the Home Affairs Select Committee that a police officer must be permitted to search detainees of the opposite sex if they are in possession of gender-recognition certificates (GRC). As you are aware, it is probably embarrassing and disturbing for a person to be searched by an officer of the opposite sex. No matter if the officer has a certificate, it doesn’t matter.
The Gender Recognition Act of 2004 was passed to give transgender people the opportunity to marry people of the same sex (at the time prior to same-sex marriage) and to recognize the right to respect for one’s personal and familial life, which is protected by the European Convention on Human Rights’ Article 8). It is important to keep in mind that a GRC is merely legal documentation that does not alter reality or take away other people’s rights.
A person’s sex is unaffected by GRC
In their email to Mr. Philp, Maya Forstater of Sex Matters, Heather Binning of the Women’s Rights Network, and Nicola Williams of Fair Play for Women added that “recent legal situations regarding the concept of gender have confirmed that a GRC does not change reality for all legal purposes.”
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) rules, which govern stop and search and strip searches in particular, make it abundantly clear that those should be carried out by someone of the same sex, Mr. Philp said to the Commons home affairs committee on Wednesday. “I am also quite clear that that refers to someone of the same born natural sex or in possession of a conventional court-approved gender recognition certificate, especially for the sake of women’s safety.
“We have asked the National Police Chiefs’ Council to review their guidance once more with this in mind and to ensure that it complies with the relevant PACE code.”
Case by case basis
The NPCC recommendations had been taken down from the organization’s website on Saturday.
An NPCC official stated in a statement that all searches are handled on a case-by-case basis after being taken into account by the custody sergeant based on the detainee’s response.
“Searches are conducted in accordance with the officer or staff member’s training and legal expertise, taking into account our obligations under both the Police and Criminal Evidence Acts of 1984 and the Equality Act of 2010.”
The PACE codes of practice make it clear that strip searches should be conducted by someone of the same sex, especially for the safety of women, i.e., someone who was born biologically related to them or who, in a very small number of cases, had access to Gender Recognition Certificates.
“We have emphasized how crucial it is to adhere to the NPCC’s codes of conduct.”
