Katie Herzog covers my police visit for Seattle's The Stranger

[Glinner]

Full piece here

www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/12/20/37275129/fighting-on-twitter-in-the-uk-you-could-be-arrested-for-that

Norwich police went from "harassment is subjective" to "nothing to do with us, we were just the messenger" and gave me the address of an officer in Northumbria, who is studiously ignoring the following email I sent.

Dear X

I write in relation to the visit on 9th December 2018 date by an Officer from my local Police Force. They informed me that a Dr Adrian Harrop had made a complaint against me relating to the following tweets.

twitter.com/Glinner/status/1071501508427042816

twitter.com/Glinner/status/1071506718268502017

I am advised by the Norfolk Constabulary that they were acting as messengers in this case. They have given me your email address as those responsible for contacting the Norfolk Constabulary and requesting that an Officer was ‘tasked to come and see you to give you words of advice about some Twitter comments you had made’.

The Officer at Norfolk Constabulary, Joanne Minnis, told me that: ‘the decision to give you words was made by the Police Force which dealt with the victim’s concerns. Norfolk Police were simply the messengers’.

I have reviewed the tweets I sent carefully and write to you as I am bewildered that a Police Force could review those matters and seriously consider them to be harassment in any form. Dr Adrian Harrop is a prominent trans rights activist, as he states in his Twitter profile. He is a person who exhibits considerable unpleasantness online in particular to women. He has on several occasions engaged in behaviour which by any reckoning is far more targeted and harassing than anything I have said.

I keep reading reports of how Police Forces are underfunded and overworked and lack ability to investigate burglaries or robberies. I am astonished, therefore, that your Police Force thought it necessary or proportionate to contact Norfolk Constabulary and ask them to visit me.

I, therefore, write to ask you to explain, in advance of me making any formal complaint, what precise offences are alleged against me, what evidence your Police Force considered, and what about the tweets I sent could possibly be seen as in objective way harassment? I ask you, in particular, to note that the comments referred to Dr Adrian Harrop’s interview on Sky News. This was self-evidently a public broadcast upon which I commented.

I have been the target of a number of actions from trans rights activists owing to my declared belief that sex is an immutable characteristic and that the blurring of gender and sex can present difficulties and even dangers to women. However, the recent use of the Police as the trans rights activist enforcers is alarming. I therefore request, urgently, an explanation of why my support of the protected characteristic of sex within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, and my freedom of speech, are being subject to curtailment by such trans rights activists with the cooperation of the Police.

Thanks in advance for your response.

Graham Linehan

By the way, the Norwich police are dead wrong that harassment is subjective. There is a test, and the police should know it:

"there must be evidence to prove the conduct was targeted at an individual, was calculated to alarm or cause him/her distress, and was oppressive and unreasonable."

Glinner, the contrast between you and that utter prat Harrop is something else. I love when a single man is able to pause my thinking that men are a lost cause. I'm crazily appreciative.

As for Harrop..doesn't he have some poor, unsuspecting patients to unleash himself onto? Ffs he is one lazy shite. GET TO WORK HARROP!

Bullshit, Norfolk.

Actually, I don't blame you. Your Chief Officers haven't yet worked out a way of resolving so-called 'hate crimes' and perceived harassment when the complaints show no such thing.

So they resort to sending a bobby/PCSO to 'have a word'. The complainant will be happy (imagining a stern bollocking) and the subject will be happy because the police have listened and agreed that that the complaint is without substance. Everyone's happy..... until they aren't, and the whole facade comes tumbling down.

Graham - for God sake, write to the Independent Office for Police Conduct because (a) it involves two police forces but next week you could have another force sending someone to your door (b) this is about a process rather than individual officers (c) it points to serious failings and poor knowledge in all police forces - especially at Chief Officer level (c) it will continue unless there is a review of the policing of so-called 'transphobic' so-called 'hostility'.

www.policeconduct.gov.uk/

Jeez. As if you didn't have enough on your plate.

Better still, use this for material for your next series. You couldn’t make this up.

Aspie
Graham 🍷

Just popping to thank you for your contribution

I namechange often now and am concerned about my gender critical views being published as I don't want the grief that goes along with it.

Thank you glinner

"there must be evidence to prove the conduct was targeted at an individual, was calculated to alarm or cause him/her distress, and was oppressive and unreasonable

And yet when the evidence of this towards women is shown, this definition seems to never apply. Apparently a different definition of harassment applies.

Weird huh?

Good work Graham. Time to escalate now I think?

Also, you might want to ask MNHQ to remove the name of the police officer before the cult come after her for not tasering you and slapping the handcuffs on.

Brilliant letter. Thanks so much for all this.

Well done for following this up Graham.

I have some personal experience of reporting harassment (also Norfolk Constabulary) and know that a crime reference number is issued as soon as a report is made. A standard question asked these days is "Do you regard this as a hate crime?"

So I'd be interested in knowing if this was recorded as a 'normal crime' or a 'hate crime' (I know that AH is not transgender but I believe a hate crime can be committed by association)

If it was recorded as a hate crime then surely it would feed into these statistics to prove how persecuted minority groups are, and how the police are failing to protect these groups by not securing enough convictions?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46543874

Incidentally, the last time I had a Constable visit me he seemed visibly shocked and asked why nothing had been done before as "this really is a crime" I replied something like "Aren't most visits real crimes" to which he responded "No" Apparently he goes out to a couple of online harassment cases a week which are kids having a spat on Facebook or grown-ups getting offended on Twitter. He went on to give me a couple of recent examples that I won't repeat.

What complete bullshit it is.

I don't think I've ever seen an article/Tweet/ interview where Harrop has come across well. However, he doesn't seem to mind. I think he's after a "Katie Hopkins" type media career maybe? But he needs to realize that that kind of gig will have a very short shelf life...

The article says, the police showed up asked Glinner to stop posting about Harrop, Glinner said no, police say "Have a nice day."

Harrop crows about the cops telling Glinner to stop.

Malicious waste of taxpayer money and resources, and done solely for twitter points.

The play really is the thing for Harrop and his supporters. What a scam.

Thanks Graham, for doing this.

Every time an article is written about the interaction between Glinner and Hayden, it’s reported how Hayden was referred to as “he”. Streisand Effect. One can’t refer to Hayden as “he” but one can refer to a time when Hayden became upset that Hayden was referred to as “he” by someone, and Hayden complained to the police about being referred to as “he” and then newspapers reported on the course of events when Hayden was referred to as “he”. What interesting times we live in

Thanks Glinner for showing up how ridiculous this whole situation is.

Can't believe they're after you again Glinner
What a shitty indictment of our police service. They really seem to be at the beck and call of a certain group.
And no surprises that the attention seeking, self-appointed High Priest Harrop is flapping his little arms and kicking up dust because a person on the internet said something. He'd manage to find something offensive in a quiet, empty white room. Might set up a crowdfunder for his much needed therapy
But thank you Glinner for continuing to speak, despite the harassment and abuse you get for it.
Wishing you and your family a very Happy Christmas

Shorter Norwich Police.

Whilst we recognise that there is Freedom of Speech in the UK we don't really care, which is absolutely a decision about relative priorities that a local police force should be allowed to make. Laws, what are those? Internationally recognized pillars upon which democracy is build? Pah!

In all seriousness, who the hell do these people think they are?

So they resort to sending a bobby/PCSO to 'have a word'. The complainant will be happy (imagining a stern bollocking) and the subject will be happy because the police have listened and agreed that that the complaint is without substance. Everyone's happy..... until they aren't, and the whole facade comes tumbling down.

Exactly this. It's an absolute pantomime. And at a time when resources are scarce.

Harrop had the last word in that article

'“Every person, without exception, irrespective of their gender identity, ought to have the freedom to express themselves and live their lives in an honest and genuine way, entirely free from the fear of harassment and exclusion."

But they seem to have omitted the 'well, except women and their allies, obviously.' part.

What's most interesting about this article is that Seattle is very woke. How did this get published?

Harrop should be charged with wasting police time.

Here’s another thank you from me Glinner.

Well Katie Herzog is a Very Bad Lady, AAK, and (IMO) such a good writer on this and whatever subject she covers.
www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/07/03/25262759/a-response-to-the-uproar-over-my-piece-the-detransitioners

Sorry for your bother with ra polis, glinner.

As an aside, can we start a "trans women are women, trans men and men, and non binary identities are valid" intonation thread. Surely no other current UK political movement requires this type of repetitive statement?

Thanks for all the advice on this thread, everyone. :)

Thank you for pursuing this Glinner and please do so as far as you're able. I think the more light you shine on this the more the ridiculousness of it will be exposed. What were the police thinking? The loons. A friend of a friend on FB was gloating about the fact the police had gone round to put you in your place and I just sat there with my eyes popping out of my head. I most definitely do not want to live in a society where the police pay you a visit for having expressed an opinion. Jesus. And the horribleness that gets expressed without consequence on Twitter - actual threats, etc. The police should be tackling those if they tackle anything.