STATE SANCTIONED SEXUAL ASSAULT
WOMEN PAY THE PRICE FOR POLICING BEYOND THE LAW
NEW! NEW REPORT
RESPONSES FROM MPs, PCCs and CHIEF CONSTABLES
In January we revealed that the NPCC had mandated an unlawful policy that allowed male officers to search women. That policy guidance was withdrawn on 11 January 2024.
Or was it?
Only 9 forces confirm that they are fully compliant with The Police And Criminal Evidence Act. Read our follow up report to see if your local force still operates an unlawful policy.
WITHDRAW THIS FLAWED & DANGEROUS POLICY!
THIS APPROVED POLICY – ALREADY ROLLED OUT BY MANY FORCES – ALLOWS POLICE OFFICERS TO SEXUALLY ASSAULT WOMEN AND GIRLS AND CALLS IT “HATE” AND “DISCRIMINATION” IF WE OBJECT.
In December 2021, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) approved a policy paper proposing that officers be permitted to strip and even intimately search suspects of the opposite sex if the officer self-identified as the same “gender” as the person being searched.
The policy – which has been accepted and is now being implemented by the majority of police forces across the country – does not refer to the protected characteristic of sex. Instead, it proposes that self-identified “gender” is used in place of sex in contravention of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). PACE states that searches involving the removal of more than outer clothing are required to be conducted by, and only in the presence of, an officer or staff member of the same sex, and out of public view.
Women’s Rights Network calls on the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to withdraw this flawed and dangerous policy.
The policy paper made it clear that anyone who objects to being searched by a member of the opposite sex, and any officer refusing to carry out such a search, may be the subject of a hate crime or a non-crime hate incident if this is based on “discriminatory views”.
This is not a hypothetical situation. Many forces already have officers who identify as the opposite sex including West Midlands where 12 officers identified as the opposite sex when asked in February 2023.
Of the 47 forces consulted, 35 confirm they have either already implemented, or are in the process of implementing this policy.
" The power to search is fundamental. It involves a legalised personal assault, particularly when this involves a strip or intimate search. As a society we accept that when this is carried out lawfully, it is a reasonable price to pay to ensure safety and lawful protection. However, these actions can only be carried out under the principle of “policing with consent” if they are both reasonable and lawful. This is not reasonable or lawful and we do not consent. It is state-sanctioned sexual assault, and it must not be tolerated."
Heather Binning,
Founder of WRN
