FOI 355/25

REQUEST

Please can you advise me what your policy is on the gender and pronouns you use when a suspect/criminal is transgender? My enquiry relates to the recording of crimes and public communications/press releases, not internal HR procedures for police officers.

Please can you give me direct answers to the following questions.

1. Would the force describe someone as having a gender and/or pronouns that are different to their birth sex if they DO NOT have a gender recognition certificate (GRC)? E.g. if a person born male identifies as a woman but does not have a GRC, would you call them a woman and use she/her pronouns?

2. Would the force describe someone as having a gender and/or pronouns that are different to their birth sex if they DO have a gender recognition certificate (GRC)? E.g. if a person born male identifies as a woman and has a GRC, would you call them a woman and use she/her pronouns?

3. In cases of rape, which requires male genitalia to commit, would the force use she/her pronouns and record the suspect/culprit's gender as female, if they identity as a woman but DO NOT have a GRC?

4. In cases of rape, which requires male genitalia to commit, would the force use she/her pronouns and record the suspect/culprit's gender as female, if they identity as a woman and DO have a GRC?

RESPONSE

We have consulted with our Communities, Partnerships and Cohesion Team and Communications and Media Team who have provided the following information in relation to questions 1 and 2.

Question 1

A person’s self-declared gender identity is respected in day-to-day interactions, regardless of whether they have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). For example, if an individual identifies as a woman and uses she/her pronouns, they would be addressed as such by officers and staff in accordance with principles of dignity, respect, and inclusion.

There is no policy within the Communications and Media Team regarding this issue. When describing a person we would follow the detail recorded on the crime log.

Question 2

Yes. Under the Gender Recognition Act 2004, an individual with a GRC is legally recognised in their affirmed gender. In such cases, South Wales Police would refer to them by their legally recognised gender and corresponding pronouns in all official records and communications.

Question 3 and 4

We have consulted with our Crime Registrar who has provided the following information in relation to questions three and four.

From a crime recording perspective, the instruction from the Home Office is to record as what the victim was at birth unless they have a GRC.