THE news this week that police forces are willing to issue multiple different warrant cards to serving officers, in line with their chosen “gender identity”, leaves me fearful for the safety of female officers.
Giving trans-identified men warrant cards that say they are female means they have the right to use women-only changing rooms, toilets and showers.
Police issuing warrant cards based on gender identity has sparked safety concerns for women-only spaces such as changing rooms and toilets
The deep-rooted problem of widespread police sexism and misogyny has been highlighted by Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne CouzensPA
Norfolk Police justify this on the grounds that officers should be able to choose the facilities they feel most comfortable in — and if their gender identity does not match their biological sex, they should be able to define themselves as they wish.
This is an absolute disgrace: Once again the feelings of men take precedence over the safety and comfort of women.
It’s not that long since female officers were known as WPCs, consigned to investigating missing bicycles or com-forting female victims of rape and domestic violence.
Feminists both within and beyond the force pushed for change, so policewomen would have rights and dignity.
There have already been several scandals over alleged police-perpetrated abuse of serving officers and clerical staff.
Now, this warrant card fiasco is yet another loophole that will be used by abusive male officers to intimidate and assault female officers.
Single-sex spaces and services exist for a very good reason, namely the prevalence and risk of male violence, including sexual assault and harassment.
There have been multiple allegations that female officers have been subjected to these acts.
And, shockingly, two-thirds of forces already allow trans-identified male officers to use female-only facilities.
A response to the warrant card announcement from the College of Policing said: “All employers, including police, are required to comply with the Equality Act.”
This appears to be based on the misconceived idea that to do otherwise would “out” a trans officer in his new gender identity and therefore amount to discrimination.
But this is not what the law says, and the policy may in fact amount to indirect discrimination against women.
Single-sex spaces and services exist for a very good reason, namely the prevalence and risk of male violence, including sexual assault and harassment
Last year, a report by the Centre for Women’s Justice exposed the grim facts of abuse said to have been perpetrated by male police officers against their female colleagues.
It claimed that systemic failures within policing continue — and that police forces are struggling to tackle abuse which occurs off duty.
Falsely reporting crimes
There are too many instances of police officers dodging penalties even when multiple allegations of abuse have been made against them.
Some have even been promoted to roles where they oversee policing on rape and domestic abuse.
The deep-rooted problem of widespread police sexism and misogyny has been highlighted by Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick — both in the Met Police when they committed their crimes — as well as by increasing cases of police-perpetrated violence against women and girls across England and Wales.
In the crazy world of gender ideology, police forces have been spectacularly captured.
I am not only talking about officers adorning their vehicles with rainbow colours at Pride events.
Take Police Scotland, for example, whose policy until September last year was to record the gender identity of rapists, rather than their biological sex.
Since penetrative rape can only ever be committed by a person with a penis — obviously, therefore a male — this never should have been allowed.
In the past, Police Scotland has defended the use of self-identification for recording the sex of all offenders — rapists included — because this was in line with its “values”.
And this has also happened in England and Wales. In 2022, Freedom of Information requests revealed that 24 of the country’s 48 police forces said that if somebody was arrested or charged with rape or sexual assault, the official record would show their preferred gender identity rather than biological sex.
Yet the act of rape is defined in law as an offence that can only be committed by a male — so it makes no sense for the police to corrupt and undermine important national statistics by falsely recording male crimes as female crimes.
Warrant cards are issued to police officers in order to prove their identity and authority, and to authorise them to perform their duties.
Just imagine how easy it would be for a male off-duty officer posing as a woman to make use of his ‘female’ warrant card to commit acts of violence towards vulnerable women and girls
A warrant card can also be used in the event that an officer needs to exercise their powers as a constable while off duty.
Wayne Couzens used his to convince Sarah Everard that he was bona fide when he handcuffed her in order to abduct, rape and murder her.
Just imagine how easy it would be for a male off-duty officer posing as a woman to make use of his “female” warrant card to commit acts of violence towards vulnerable women and girls.
They may as well be handed a licence to rape.
SWNSWayne Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick, above, were both in the Met Police when they committed their crimes[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
