I'm confused, The met and searches

I'm confused. Surely wearing the opposite sex 'outs' them, not asking their manager?

See, there you go, tra la la ing on in your happy clappy gender critical manner.

Fuck off expecting logic, sense, coherence. You GC bigot, you!

"The Met Police are reviewing their uniform policy amid concerns some officers feel obliged to wear uniforms that do not match their gender identity. Currently, the uniforms officers wear are at a manager's discretion, meaning that some trans or non-binary officers may feel obliged to ‘come out’ to management when picking their kit."

I'm confused. Surely wearing the opposite sex 'outs' them, not asking their manager?

Also, his quote about about searches doesn't say that trans women could end up searching female arrestees, it's the reporter that's added that bit in. Halton-Woodward only says they are reviewing searches to “better reflect the officer’s gender identity”. Which could just mean that they won't require an officer who is a trans to search someone who is male or male identified.

However, IIRC, we have already had a force state they will go by officer's gender identity not sex when it comes to body searches, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was what they were considering. It's just impossible to know what from the reporting.

Well it must be different in different forces but in 2012 at least one force had different sex stab vests.
I don't remember when I signed up whether another force had M/F stab vests. I thought so but can't be sure. That was in 2006.

@DontBuyANewMumCashmere given there were complaints regarding the stab vests until at least 2019, it is reassuring to hear that at least the Police have addressed the issue now, after 20 years of complaints.

Horrifying

There was an officer who had two ID cards - one male and one female identities (which they selected according to how they felt). How is this not taking the Mickey?

The timing of this article is appalling regarding letting male officer curry out intimate searches of women. A particularly horrible incident happened almost exactly 12 months ago.

I think, for me, it would be worse to be searched by a TIM officer because I know too much. With some it would be a fetish, they are still sexually attracted to women and nothing, bar the clothing, makes them not men. Just an unverifiable female feeling, while they are feeling an actual female.

I remember a thread from a few week ago, a police force getting some stick because a trans officer was photographed with garish make up and nail varnish. The force was criticised because the slap was non-uniform, etc. I remember thinking, if it wasn't for the makeup I would have thought it was just some bloke., big beefy arms and all. All the GRCs in the world wouldn't change that.

I don't know the procedure for an intimate search? Do you have to strip in front of them? I assume all cavities are searched? If you scream, resist, misgender(!!!), would that mean further charges, a hate crime!?

In all probability it is something I'm extremely unlikely to expérience, but the thought of some woman, some girl....

But it'll probably never happened, the Met has no reputation for misogyny, none at all....does it?

Do you fancy Wayne Couzens type officer (since we know there's plenty of them still in the MET) strip-searching you because he decides he feels like a woman at that moment?

Your rights as a female are worth less than the rights of a male person to feel affirmed, is that what you are saying?

These things are already happening in some forces so I'm quite shocked the Met aren't already doing this.

And just in terms of the uniform, why are there different uniforms? The difference appears to be that women wear a bowler hat and cravat and the men wear a peaked hat and tie. Why?

Then again, the concerns about PPE (such as stab vests) which are ill fitting for female Police Officers because they are made to fit a male default doesn't seem to have been addressed by the Police. At all. I wonder why women's safety is a less pressing concern than officers being able to wear the uniform which matches their gender identity?

It's a really weird article. The paragraph about searches in custody is incongruous with the rest of the information given. It talks about uniforms being more 'inclusive' and training being given to tackle homophobia etc and then almost nonchalantly talks about searches in custody being conducted by males and no further information or discussion. It's almost as though the feelings and rights of the women being searched don't matter. But we know that.

Did anyone else find this rather troubling?

'But he noted that police misconduct regulations aren’t in the force’s gift: “We do not have control over them.” Officers can only be sacked for gross misconduct, a fact which allowed nine of 14 officers investigated by the IOPC to keep their jobs'

Can a female detainee alert the officer that she is gender critical and as such that makes a male person searching her a common or garden sexual offender?

It's nothing to do with belief. Law forbids an officer of the opposite sex from searching a detainee. Males cannot search females and females cannot search males.

Add to that the worrying increase (or is it just increased reporting...?) of rapes/indecent assaults by police officers and I don't a male - however he identifies - anywhere near me in those traumatised circumstances.

Smacks of someone getting their kicks.

Of course it would.

I would absolutely care if I had to have a male officer touch me intimately or see me with my clothes removed. If probably be distraught and feel like I'd been violated.

Whether he wore a male or female uniform wouldn't lessen that distress.

In fact, a female uniform would, if anything, make that violation feel even greater.

There was a case recently where the police decided to ‘punish’ a woman who refused to give them her details (she was waiting for a friend in their car). A 50 something Rastafarian woman searched and put in a cell, with her clothes taken away and given hot pants and what looked like a kids crop top.

Now do you see why women are worried? Besides the police should be seen to be doing their job - not playing rainbow gender games.