Transgender police officers can strip search women under new guidelines.

British Transport Police policy allows recently transitioned officers to intimately search women if they have received a gender recognition certificate.

Entitled “Transgender and non-binary research post”, it was authorized in September by the deputy police chief for network policing.

It comes after the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) was forced to withdraw similar guidance in January after concerns were raised about women’s safety.

The guidance, seen by the Mail, reads: “British Transport Police recognizes the status of transgender and non-binary prisoners/staff from the moment they permanently identify as that gender with or without a GRC (gender recognition certificate).

“This means that even when a person has not legally changed their gender, we must continue to use the correct pronouns and recognize the person’s gender.” BTP officers/staff will only search for people of the same sex whether on their birth certificate or GRC.

It covers “deeper” searches which involve the removal of coats, hats and shoes, as well as “EIP” or strip searches which involve the person being searched removing all clothing.

The guidance adds: “An officer may only search according to the sex indicated on their birth certificate or indicated on their GRC, whichever is more recent, when promulgating a lawful power to search under duress. »

British Transport Police (BTP) said its guidelines were in line with equality laws and that a searched person could object to being searched by any officer.

British Transport Police policy allows recently transitioned officers to intimately search women if they have received a gender recognition certificate (file photo)

In a separate policy, construction workers are told they can also wear “the uniform of the gender of their choice” and use the locker rooms and showers of the gender identity of their choice.

The document adds that any officer in transition receives a new account on the police computer system as well as a new uniform collar number. They can also order a new mandate card in the name of their choice.

The document adds: “The individual is not required to provide proof of the name change, such as a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) or voting record, other than for verification. »

Cathy Larkman, a retired police officer and national police officer for the Women’s Rights Network, said strip searches “require sensitivity, professionalism and courtesy” and should only be carried out by one person of the same sex.

She added: “British Transport Police believe that possession of a GRC confers some kind of right on a male police officer to strip search a woman, or on a female police officer to be pressured to search a male prisoner male.

“Their rush to implement this, despite clear warnings, indicates that they have forgotten women’s rights or, at best, can do without them.”

It follows a backlash earlier this year, which saw similar guidance from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) temporarily withdrawn after the Conservative government raised concerns.

British Transport Police (BTP) said its guidelines were in line with equality laws and that a searched person could object to being searched by any officer (file photo)

The NPCC said it was carrying out a review of the policy, which had been implemented by the majority of police forces, with law enforcement reverting to previous policies on searches while these were implemented. implemented.

Women’s rights activists have written to the head of the British Transport Police to raise concerns about the policy.

Maya Forstater, CEO of the human rights charity Sex Matters, which sent the letter, called the guidelines “a shocking violation of human rights.”

She said: “The BTP policy violates this obligation, by treating the “gender identities” of male officers as more important than the most fundamental rights of women.

“The BTP policy reveals the absurdity of thinking that a gender recognition certificate entitles a man to be treated as if he were a woman in a wide range of person-to-person interactions, even in situations involving nudity.”

A BTP spokesperson said: “An officer can only search by the sex given on their birth certificate or shown on their Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), whichever is the most recent, when they enacts a legal power to search under duress.

“A searched person may object to being searched by any officer; this agent will be replaced by another member of the team to carry out the search in his place. This happens regularly in practice for many reasons, including to defuse conflict.