Latest news with #policeguidance
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Southport victim's family criticises police plan to share suspects' ethnicity
The family of one of the three girls killed in the Southport attack last year has criticised new police guidance that recommends forces share suspects' ethnicity and nationality with the public. The interim guidance by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing comes after mounting pressure on police to increase transparency around the identity of offenders. Police forces have been instructed to share suspects' ethnicity and nationality with the public after authorities were accused of covering up offences carried out by asylum seekers, and in the wake of riots sparked by social media disinformation after the Southport murders. In an interview with The Guardian, Michael Weston King, the grandfather of Bebe King, who along with Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar was killed by Axel Rudakubana, said the ethnicity of serious crime suspects is 'completely irrelevant'. Disclosing the race and immigration status of high-profile suspects became official police guidance on Wednesday. 'I not only speak for myself but for all of the King family when I say that the ethnicity of any perpetrator, or indeed their immigration status, is completely irrelevant,' Mr Weston King said. 'Mental health issues, and the propensity to commit crime, happens in any ethnicity, nationality or race. 'The boy who took Bebe had been failed by various organisations, who were aware of his behaviour, and by the previous government's lack of investment in Prevent. As a result, we were also failed by this.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called for more transparency from police about suspects, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said that he 'absolutely' believes that information about charged suspects' immigration status should be made available by police. It is hoped the change could combat the spread of misinformation on social media, after Merseyside Police was criticised for not revealing the ethnicity of Rudakabana when he was arrested after he attacked a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in July 2024. Within hours of the attack, posts spread on the internet claiming the suspect was a 17-year-old asylum seeker who had come to the country by boat last year. In the first press conference after the event, at 6.30pm that day, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy told journalists the suspect was originally from Cardiff. But the police statement did little to quell the misinformation spreading online, and the next day, riots began across the country.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Policing must strike a balance between transparency and justice
Given the sensitivity of the issue, the high level of public interest, and the clear danger of legitimate public protests descending into mob rule, it is entirely right that the police should be given new guidance on releasing details of the ethnicity and nationality of a suspect in some, limited circumstances. The new interim guidance, issued by the National Police Chiefs' Council and the College of Policing, is, if anything, somewhat overdue – because it has been distressingly clear that surmise, conjecture, speculation, misinformation, propaganda, 'asking questions', and downright lies about serious crimes, can be weaponised by malign agents. Conspiracy theories have generated enormous public concern, and then disorder. Some calm analysis is required. Crime is crime, and criminals are criminals, and crime cannot be racialised. The release of information concerning a suspect's nationality, race, or immigration status (as has been suggested but, for the moment, resisted) cannot be used as an excuse for a riot. An offence is not more serious because it has been committed by, say, an asylum seeker, and an individual is not in some sense more guilty because of the colour of their skin. Except in cases involving a racial motive or incitement to hatred, such considerations ought to be irrelevant. Generally, they will continue to be. That has to be the default position. However, if a senior police team judges that the safety of the public is best served by the release of certain defaults, then a degree of discretion is justified. 'Guidance' is just that – a set of guidelines, not hard rules. The violent summer riots of 2024 were serious enough, but they could have been much worse had the truth about the Southport murders not emerged when it did, and had the untrue rumours about the suspect being a Muslim asylum-seeker who had come straight off a small boat not been dispelled – not that it should have made a difference in terms of criminal justice. As in all operational matters, the police should have an appropriate degree of discretion in the particular circumstances of any given situation they face, and equally, they should be free of political interference – and the demands of certain populist politicians and 'activists' to use heinous crimes and the suffering of victims for their own cynical purposes. These particular public figures don't care, in any case, whether people they don't like receive a fair trial, and are cheerfully contemptuous of the rule of law, particularly the provisions of the Contempt of Court Act 1981. But no democratic society should concede the universal principle of the right to a fair trial, uncontaminated by widespread misreporting of circumstances and motives such that a jury cannot do its job. The Home Office has not written these new guidelines – which is as it should be – but it has welcomed the interim proposals. The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, is complementing the move by asking the Law Commission to clarify how increased transparency and limited discretion for the police to release certain details could affect a free and fair trial. At the same time, the police have to be able to justify and defend their own actions in a world in which corrosive and baseless allegations of 'two-tier' policing, and 'cover-ups', are thrown around with such recklessness on social media and, sadly, by the so-called mainstream media as well. Like the guidance on what the police can reveal about suspects, the law on contempt of court also needs to be revisited. Since the relevant legislation was put on the statute book, the world has changed beyond recognition. Then, it was a matter of ensuring that a relatively small number of domestic press outlets and broadcasters behaved responsibly. For many years, because journalists are not on the whole bent on causing injustice and triggering retrials, the arrangements worked well. Times change. The last year or so, in particular, has proved how social media operates in an entirely different way. It is practically lawless. A very old adage springs to mind when one considers the speed of modern dissemination – a lie can be halfway around the world before the truth has got its boots on. This is an environment in which none of the tech giants take full responsibility for what appears on their platforms, or for the very real harm it can inflict. Vile racial slurs about non-existent crimes or suspects can originate far from the UK, and be amplified by bots and augmented by AI. There is a balance to be struck, essentially, between transparency and justice. That balance requires constant monitoring and periodic adjustment as technology moves forward and public expectations evolve. There will never be complete consensus, or success, often because the radical populists, both online and off, have a vested interest in fostering – indeed, creating – such unpleasant myths and conspiracies. But there is a sense here of a government and a police service being alert to the urgency of the challenge. In an often bleak social-media landscape, that is encouraging.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
New suspect ethnicity guidance ‘may not stop spread of disinformation', policing minister admits
Disinformation could still spread around suspects' ethnicity despite new police guidance aimed at sharing more information with the public, a minister has admitted. The interim guidance by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing comes after authorities were accused of covering up offences carried out by asylum seekers. Police should consider disclosing the extra details about suspect s charged in particularly high-profile and sensitive investigations, the new guidance says, although decisions will remain with the investigating force. Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said the government was 'very supportive' of forces being as open and transparent as possible when charging decisions are announced. 'We're now saying that should then include nationality and ethnicity, unless there's a very good reason not to do so,' she told Sky News. However, she conceded that disinformation could still spread if ethnicity information is released. She said: '(Disinformation) is a bigger problem for society, I think, but in terms of particular individuals, what normally happens is at charge, information is released. That's what's happened before.' It is hoped the change could combat the spread of misinformation on social media, after Merseyside Police was criticised for not revealing the ethnicity of Axel Rudakabana when he was arrested on suspicion of murder after he attacked children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the Merseyside town last July. Within hours of the attack, posts spread on the internet which claimed the suspect was a 17-year-old asylum seeker who had come to the country by boat last year. In the first press conference after the event, at 6.30pm that day, Merseyside Police chief constable Serena Kennedy told journalists the suspect was originally from Cardiff. But the police statement did little to quell the misinformation spreading online, and the next day, riots erupted across the country. In a separate incident in May, to counter rumours that an incident involving a car ploughing into crowds during Liverpool's Premier League victory parade was a terror attack, the force promptly revealed the ethnicity and nationality of a man they had arrested, who was white and British. Dame Diana said the government has asked the Law Commission to look into the guidance to make sure any future trial is not prejudiced by information released by police. The guidance, which comes into immediate effect, encourages police to share nationality and ethnicity information when there is a 'policing purpose to do so'. This could include cases where there is a risk to public safety, high levels of misinformation or disinformation or in cases of significant public interest. It also reaffirms that it is not the role or responsibility of the police to verify a suspect's immigration status. Earlier this month, Warwickshire police and crime commissioner Philip Seccombe pressed the Home Secretary for an urgent update on the issue after the charging of two men – reported to be Afghan asylum seekers – prompted accusations that the force withheld information about their immigration status. The force denied a 'cover-up' after being criticised by Reform UK. Asked if information about a suspect's asylum status will be shared in new guidance, Dame Diana told BBC Breakfast: 'To date, it's not something that the Home Office comment on in terms of asylum applications that are made by individuals.' Announcing the new guidance, the NPCC's lead for communications and media, deputy chief constable Sam de Reya, said last summer's disorder showed there are 'major, real-world consequences' from information put into the public domain. 'We have to make sure our processes are fit for purpose in an age of social media speculation and where information can travel incredibly quickly across a wide range of channels,' he added. 'Disinformation and incorrect narratives can take hold in a vacuum. It is good police work for us to fill this vacuum with the facts about issues of wider public interest.' Emily Spurrell of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners also welcomed the move, adding there was a 'clear need' to update the guidance for forces. She added: 'We have seen the speed with which mis- or disinformation can spread online and the danger to public safety that can cause, so it is right police keep the public informed as far as is possible whilst preserving a suspect's right to a fair trial.'
Telegraph
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trans suspects can ask for female and male officers to search different halves of body
Trans women with breasts and a penis can ask for a female police officer to search the top half of their body and a male officer to search their bottom half, under new guidance issued in Scotland. The five-page document issued by Police Scotland says searches will usually be conducted by an officer of the same biological sex as the transgender person. The guidance, issued following the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in April, means that police searches of trans women will be carried out by male officers. However, the guidance also says that trans people can request to be searched by an officer who matches their 'lived gender' instead to ensure their dignity is 'respected' and 'to minimise distress'. If this happens, the guidance stated that 'efforts will be made to ensure an appropriate officer conducts the search, where this is operationally viable to do so'. Officer's consent required Written consent will be required from the officer conducting the search, an 'authorising officer' of inspector rank or above, and the trans person. Trans people are also entitled to ask for a 'separate area search' if one part of their body has a different 'anatomical presentation' from another. This could happen if a trans woman suspect has had hormone therapy to grow breasts but still has male genitalia, for example. 'This means that one half of their body will be searched by one biological sex officer and the other half of their body will be searched by a different biological sex officer,' the guidance said. Police Scotland said the new policy had been developed following 'extensive advice' for legal and human rights advisors, following April's Supreme Court ruling that the definition of a woman is based solely on biological sex. 'Erosion' of women's rights But For Women Scotland, the feminist campaign group that won the case, warned that a trans person altering one half of their body does not mean they have changed sex. Susan Smith, one of the group's directors, said: 'They aren't some creature of myth, half-male and half-female. It is disturbing and distressing that the police are pandering to these extreme delusions.' She also argued that 'written consent cannot override the law and will be a poor excuse if a female officer subsequently discovers that the suspect she agreed to search intimately has committed sex offences'. Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at gender-critical charity Sex Matters, said: 'Until what seems like five minutes ago, Police Scotland was a fully-fledged champion of transgender ideology and a paid-up member of Stonewall's diversity champions scheme, so it's a relief to see Police Scotland joining several other forces in the UK in basing strip-searching primarily on biological sex. 'However, the policy to allow trans-identifying suspects to request being searched by someone of the same 'gender' that they identify as is a glaring loophole. It's open to exploitation by trans rights activists who take an active interest in the erosion of boundaries and the rights of women. 'This policy puts female officers at risk of pressure and coercion to go along with the demands of male trans-identifying suspects to be searched by women.' 'Complex' area of policing Police Scotland is the second-largest force in the UK after London's Metropolitan Police. The British Transport Police has previously confirmed trans women arrested on the railways would in future be strip-searched by male officers. Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton 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. '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.' She said the force's priority was to ensure decisions were made in line with its service values of 'integrity, fairness, respect and upholding human rights'.
