Police Scotland: Rapists 'should and will' be recorded as biological men
Police Scotland chief has admitted there have been ‘mixed messages’ on gender ID in the past.
Scotland’s chief constable has said rapists “should be and will be” recorded as biological men.
Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell said there have been no records of sexual offences being committed by women since 2018.
However she conceded there have been “mixed messages” from Scotland’s police force on this issue in recent years.
The chief constable and her deputy Alan Speirs were giving evidence in Holyrood in response to a long-running parliamentary petition by campaigners Lucy Hunter Blackburn, Lisa Mackenzie and Kath Murray.
The petition calls for police, the Crown Office and prosecutors “to accurately record the sex of people charged or convicted of rape or attempted rape”.
In response the chief constable said: “Police Scotland supports the petition - a man who rapes or attempts to rape a woman, girl or other victim is, should be, and will be, recorded by Police Scotland as male.
“Gender self-identification is a complex area of public policy and practice … but let me be clear, my priority is to protect victims.”
She told Holyrood’s public petitions committee that “statistics and data accuracy matter”, and said it was important she provided clarity to victims.
Chief Constable Farrell said: “In 2019 our position was that Police Scotland recorded the biological sex or gender identity of an individual based on self-declaration, unless sex or gender was relevant to an investigation, as would be the case in sexual violence.
“There has never been a case of a male committing rape and self-identifying as female and then being recorded by the police’s crime system as female, and that remains the case.
“On reflection and after observing intense public debate and at times mixed messages from Police Scotland, we are committed to providing further clarity in this area.
“It is important victims hear from me that there is no doubt in our practice that a man who commits rape will be recorded as male.”
Since 2018 there have been 16,258 sexual offences recorded by Police Scotland, and the chief constable said “every one of those recorded accurately that it is a biological man who has committed that offence”.
She added: “I am confident the data is evidence that our staff are able to make those judgements and record that accurately.”
The chief constable also told the committee: “In terms of the treatment of that person while in our care, in custody, we would seek to engage with them in the identity they would want to be known.”
The petitioners have since welcomed the statement by the chief constable and said: “Recognising the need for consistent, reliable data and the moral imperative underpinning our petition, the chief constable has now drawn a line under the confusion in this area, and set a clear standard for other police forces to follow.”
They added: “We hope that this balanced and respectful approach signals a fresh start for Police Scotland, not only in relation to data, but in its handling of issues around sex and gender identity more widely.”
They added that “a question remains” on how the chief constable’s predecessors allowed “the capture of the force’s policies and practices, to the detriment of something so basic as the accurate recording of sex in criminal investigations”.
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