By JACK MONTGOMERY – The National Pulse
At least 35 out of 47 police forces in the United Kingdom allow biologically male but “trans-identifying” police officers to strip search female detainees. Some said they would sanction detainees who objected to being stripped by trans officers, and possibly treat their objections as a crime.
The Women’s Rights Network (WRN) submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to British police forces asking if they would require female detainees to let biologically male trans officers strip search them. Thirty-five said they would, five offered unclear responses, and three did not respond. Only one said they had not implemented such a policy, with the remaining forces saying the policy was under consideration.
Most of the forces based their strip search policy on “self-identification” — rather than legal gender change — despite this having no standing in law. The same policy allows biologically male detainees claiming to be women to insist a female police officer searches them.
“Policewomen will be forced to comply and strip search men, for fear of disciplinary action and loss of their jobs,” the WRN warned.
In addition, a number of forces said they would punish women who resisted being strip-searched by men.
Avon and Somerset Police said, “a woman objecting to a search would find herself having a crime recorded if her refusal was deemed to be based on ‘discriminatory views.’”
Leicestershire Police said that “[i]f the detainee objects to being searched by an officer/staff member, based on the detainee’s perception that the officer is trans, then this should be challenged, and if the circumstances amount to it, then the incident is to be recorded as a hate incident.”