Police forces and the courts are allowing criminals to self-identify their gender even if they have not legally changed sex, with criminals who believe they are a different gender routinely referred to by their preferred pronouns by police and judges. The Telegraph has more.
It had previously been revealed that some forces record transgender rapists as female but guidance issued by forces and the courts indicates that criminals of all kinds can self-identify.
It is feared that the self-ID policy – which remains widely in force despite a series of high-profile trans cases – skews crime statistics.
While crime statistics are recorded for males and females, there are no specific records for transgender criminals.
Holding a Gender Recognition Certificate legally changes a person’s gender, but suspects are being recorded under their trans identity even if they do not have one.
Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, said “men should not be treated as women” in the criminal justice system.
“There are only two sexes, and it is not possible to change sex,” he said. “In matters of criminal law and justice, men should not be treated as women. In Government we were working towards clarifying the Equality Act to prevent public authorities like the police from implementing self-ID policies without legal foundation.”
Judges across England and Wales are advised to refer to transgender criminals in court according to their “chosen gender identity”.
Guidance issued by the Judicial Office says doing so is typically “unproblematic” and can be done “regardless of whether they have obtained legal recognition of their sex/gender by way of a GRC”.
But it also warns that “there will be situations where it is clearly inappropriate”, such as in the case of rape or where a witness knew the defendant as their former gender.
Similar practices are followed by a number of police forces, including the British Transport Police.
The force refers to and records the gender of transgender criminals according to “their preferred pronouns and gender identity” and that usually “records of sex would be recorded in line with their given/self-defined gender identity”, irrespective of whether they have a GRC or not. BTP denied this was the case when approached for comment.
Other forces, including South Yorkshire Police, require transgender suspects and criminals to have first acquired a GRC before they can be recorded under their trans identity.
But if criminals do have one, the force will recognise their gender transition even in sexual offence cases which can only be committed by biological males, such as rape.
Such cases include Isla Bryson, the Scottish two-time rapist who was referred to in court in 2023 with she/her pronouns, and Maddison Wilson, who died last month before being due to appear in court to face rape allegations.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), which represents senior police officers, advises forces to do the same.
Worth reading in full.
Of course, it might be noted that the Telegraph also routinely uses ‘preferred pronouns’ instead of biologically accurate ones…
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