Scots cops searches to be on 'biological sex' after Supreme Court ruling
Police Scotland has issued new interim guidance requiring certain searches to be conducted based on a person's biological sex.
Police searches in Scotland will be made by officers of the same biological sex following the landmark UK Supreme Court ruling on gender.
Police Scotland issued interim guidance on searching transgender individuals on Wednesday, which has been developed n response to April's Supreme Court judgement that the terms 'man', 'woman', and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010, refer to the sex of a person at birth.
It states that searches involving removal of more than outerwear (e.g., jackets, gloves, headgear, footwear), whether in custody or as part of a stop and search interaction, must be conducted based on biological sex.
However, if a transgender individual requests to be searched by an officer matching their lived gender, efforts will be made to accommodate this if operationally viable.
In such cases, written consent is required from the authorising officer (Inspector rank or above), the person to be searched, and the officer(s) conducting the search.
The guidance aims to ensure legal compliance and provide clarity for officers, developed with input from legal experts, human rights advisors, the Scottish Government, and other stakeholders.
Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton emphasised the importance of balancing legal obligations with respect for personal dignity and human rights.
She said: "This is a complex and important area of policing and searching members of the public is a significant intrusion of their personal liberty and privacy.
'It is critical that as an organisation, Police Scotland continues to fulfil its legal duties as well as ensuring officers and staff feel confident that they are conducting searches lawfully.
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'While the guidance will bring clarity to both our colleagues and members of the public, we are acutely aware of the impact and depth of feeling around this issue, both among the transgender community and those who hold gender critical views.
'Our priority continues to be ensuring that in all our interactions we police and make decisions in line with our service values of integrity, fairness, respect and upholding human rights.'
Police Scotland said it must ensure that it is acting in line with its duties under the Equality Act and the Human Rights Act, and that officers and staff feel confident that they are conducting searches lawfully.
April's ruling on the definition of a woman came after SNP ministers lost a long-running legal challenge brought by the For Women Scotland campaign group over gender self-identification.
It has had many implications across services such as access to single-sex spaces. Police Scotland said the had to review affected areas of operational policing, including the procedure for conducting certain kinds of searches.
The interim guidance will be kept under review, as the forces awaits the publication of revised national guidance around the issue.
They confirmed that Police Scotland's wider review into sex and gender is ongoing and further updates will be issued in due course.
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