Hmm, debated long and hard whether to answer that Sally - particularly given that you don't want to stick around to hear my response.
I guess, to me, the idea of referring to any woman past their teens as a young girl annoys me because I think it shows a general lack of respect to women. The society we live in (UK for me) values youth higher than age which seems backward to me. And what rankles is the fact that again the negative appears to apply mostly to women. Older men have wisdom, they're listened to, their opinions are valued. Look at the threads on here about toxic mothers and mothers in law. Their experiences are dismissed, their opinions trivialised, their views regarded as old fashioned and irrelevant. And of course you'll be able to point to examples where that doesn't happen but in general, it does.
In the context of that, of course some women prize being referred to as young girls with all the connotations of youth and beauty that go with it. Still doesn't mean it's right.
And at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, just because one woman might be flattered doesn't mean its acceptable for women on the whole. Should I refrain from referring to social conditioning at this point ?
I don't see why it angers you that these views are held. If someone could explain why a grown woman being referred to as a young girl is a positive statement then I'd be happen to listen . Who knows, I might even be persuaded. But please not in the context of those police officers as their opinions can now sadly never be heard.