Police power slammed for trans coverage

A police force has been criticised for introducing a policy ordering women civilian staff and officers to share showers, toilets and changing rooms with biological male colleagues who identify as female.

Trans officers at Norfolk Constabulary will also be allowed to carry dual or even multiple warrant cards if they are transitioning or gender fluid.

The force has defended the edict, saying its employees should be able to use facilities ‘where they feel most comfortable’.

But Rupert Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth, attacked the decision and warned it put female staff in an ‘unfair position’.

‘Biological men should not be permitted entry into women’s spaces,’ he said.

Trans officers at Norfolk Constabulary (pictured) will also be allowed to carry dual or even multiple warrant cards if they are transitioning or gender fluid.

The force has defended the edict, saying its employees should be able to use facilities ‘where they feel most comfortable’ (file image) 

‘For the women involved, it can be incredibly uncomfortable and they should not be put in that unfair position.’

The Reform MP added it raised a number of questions, saying: ‘What is the complaint process for Norfolk Police? Are concerned staff’s worries processed fairly?

‘Are officers unwilling to raise these concerns, for fear of being labelled a “bigot” or whatever else?’

Cathy Larkman, national policing lead for the Women’s Rights Network, said a number of forces had brought in similar or identical policies including South Yorkshire, Kent, Avon and Somerset, and British Transport Police.

Pointing out around a third of police officers are female, she added: ‘Police leaders at the highest level have embraced gender ideology but it’s harmful to their own female officers and their rights.

‘It’s often a dirty and difficult role and officers come into contact with bodily fluids, drugs and excrement on a daily basis. Officers need access to private and dignified facilities which should be safe as well.

‘Policewomen would feel reticent to speak out for fear of being labelled discriminatory and being subjected to disciplinary procedures, so they’re in an invidious position.’

The policy appears in a document called Trans Equality at Work Policy which puts in place measures intended to prevent staff being discriminated against.

It was drawn up by the force in conjunction with the Police Federation, public sector union Unison and ‘staff support networks’.

One section states: ‘All trans individuals are entitled to use the toilet, shower and changing facilities appropriate to their gender identity.

Rupert Lowe (pictured in September 2024), the MP for Great Yarmouth, attacked the decision and warned it put female staff in an ‘unfair position’

‘Where this does not fit a binary definition of gender, the individual is able to choose where they feel most comfortable, recognising that some but not all buildings have facilities that are not gender specific.’

But a female officer, who asked not to be identified, told the Mail: ‘I’ve got nothing against how other people lead their lives but this is putting a minority group’s rights over mine and [that of] other female officers.

‘A lot of people are very unhappy about this and don’t feel safe but it’s very difficult to speak out [about it].’

The policy is the latest battleground in trans rights. Under guidance issued by the National Police Chief’s Council in 2022, women could be strip-searched by transgender police officers who were born as men and could be accused of causing a hate incident if they refuse. The guidance was later withdrawn and is under review.

The issue has caused uproar in other areas. Earlier this month it emerged the National Governance Association, which runs training for school governors and trustees, was advising in its equality and diversity course that transgender teachers should be able to use any school bathrooms that align with their newly acquired gender identity.

And an NHS trust in Darlington is being sued by nurses for sexual harassment and sex discrimination over a policy that allows trans-women to use female changing rooms.

The nurses claim they have been made to feel uncomfortable by a male employee who identifies as a woman.

Those who oppose the use of female facilities by trans people argue sex is biological and immutable and cannot be changed.

Cathy Larkman (pictured in 2019), national policing lead for the Women’s Rights Network, said a number of forces had brought in similar or identical policies 

The Conservatives said in their election manifesto that they would change the Equality Act 2010 to ensure it is clear that protections based on sex apply exclusively to biological sex.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – who once said ‘99.9 per cent of women’ don’t have a penis – says the Act doesn’t need to be updated but pledged to protect single-sex spaces.

Norfolk Constabulary said: ‘We recruit people from all walks of life because we want a workforce that reflects a wide range of people living and working in Norfolk.

‘Essential to this ambition is providing a workplace in which people are supported and feel they can be themselves and this includes their gender identity.’

It claimed any employee’s ‘concern or discomfort’ would be resolved ‘sensibly and sensitively’.