Metropolitan Police guidelines

Metropolitan Police Service
Criminal Justice 0ffice
20 October, 1995

Draft Notice
Assistant Commissioner,3 Area
GN 97/95/12

Title - Advice for officers dealing with transsexuals and transvestites

It has been identified from a number of sources that there is a need for advice for officers who have to deal with transvestites and transsexuals. We must ensure that we treat them with the same respect and dignity as any other member of the public.  We must also recognise that in carrying out some procedures, such as strip searching, there is also a requirement to be sensitive to the dignity of police officers called upon to perform the task.

Definitions

Transvestite

a person who dresses in the clothes of the opposite sex.

Transsexual

a person who has the physical characteristics of one sex, but with certain characteristics of the other sex.  Surgery may have taken place and a person may exhibit the features of both sexes.  Potentially there is a wide variation in the stage of change from one sex to the other.

The issues addressed in this Notice are how to establish the "preferred" gender of the person with whom the officer is dealing and what sex they should be treated as.  The principles laid out below primarily relate to transvestites and transsexuals who are in custody or subject to a legal procedure (for example search in the street).  Nevertheless they should also be borne in mind when dealing with transvestites and transsexual as victims and witnesses.

Principles

These principles are very broad and cannot cater for every possible circumstance.  The actions of officers must be shown to be fair and respecting of the person’s dignity.

It should not be forgotten that in law, the sex of a person is that which was registered at the time of birth, a fact that remains unchanged regardless of any subsequent medical treatment or surgery.  However a rigid adherence to this principle has been found to be too inflexible and led to unnecessary confrontations.  Experience has shown that where a person of doubtful sex is treated according to their preferred sex, they are more likely to be co-operative during the course of their dealings with police (for example as a witness to a crime or when being interviewed).

The following guidance should be followed:

• If there is no doubt as to the sex of a person or there is no reason to suspect that the person is not the sex that they appear, they should be dealt with as that sex.
• If there is doubt as to a person’s sex, they should be asked what sex they consider themselves to be and what sex they would prefer to be treated as. If the person expresses a preference to be dealt with as a particular sex, they should be asked to sign the custody record or other document (e.g. pocket book for a search in the street) to indicate their preference.
• If a person is unwilling to make such an election, the officer should try and determine the predominant lifestyle of the person.  For example if they appear to live predominantly as a woman, they should be treated as such.
• If there is still doubt, the officer will have to resort to dealing with the person according to the sex that they were born.
• Transvestites and transsexuals must always be accommodated in a cell or detention room on their own.
• Once a decision has been made about which sex a transvestite or transsexual is to be treated as, where possible before an officer searches that person, the officer should be advised of the doubt as to the person’s sex.  This is important so as to maintain the dignity of the officer(s) concerned.

Searching transvestites and transsexuals and the requirements of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, 1984 (PACE)

Code A, Paragraph 3.1 states:

"Every reasonable effort must be made to reduce to the minimum the embarrassment that a person being searched may experience".

Code A, Paragraph 3.5 states that

"…Any search involving the removal of more than an outer coat jacket gloves or headgear or footwear may only be made by an officer of the same sex as the person searched and may not be made in the presence of anyone of the opposite sex unless the person specifically requests it.  "

Code C, Annex A deals with strip searches.  Paragraph 11 (a) (b) and (d) state that:

"The following procedures shall be observed when strip searches are conducted..

(a) a police officer carrying out a strip search must be of the same sex as the person searched,.

(b) the search shall take place in an area where the person being searched cannot be seen by anyone who does not need to be present, nor by a member of the opposite sex (except an appropriate adult who has been specifically requested by the person being searched);

(d) the search shall be conducted with proper regard to the sensitivity and vulnerability of the person in these circumstances and every reasonable effort shall be made to secure the persons cooperation and minimise embarassment…

There is possibility that a technical breach of the codes may take place at Code C, Annex A, 11 (a) above where an officer is present is the opposite sex to the person being person searched (by birth) and yet is the preferred by the subject.  However if this action most appropriately takes into account the sensitivity of the subject and reduces their embarrassment, it is believed that such a breach of the codes can be shown to be justified and most unlikely to result in any subsequent exclusion of evidence under section 78 of PACE.  However any such action must be fully detailed in the custody record and the consent of the person to be searched recorded as to the preferred sex of the searching officer.

In dealing with such circumstances there is potential for conflict and embarrassment.  It is also recognised that there is an opportunity for transvestites and transsexuals to attempt to "manipulate" their stated sex in an attempt to embarrass and discredit the Service.  Sensible application of the principles laid out in this Notice should minimise the risk of such action and protect officers.

Enquiries about this Notice should be made to Sergeant Michael Morrison of the Metropolitan Police’s Criminal Justice Office, at New Scotland Yard.