Caroline ffiske was a Conservative Councillor for Eight Years. Published on 26 February 2021.

We have written to the College of Policing to make a formal complaint about the behaviour of the LGBT+Police Network. Our contention is that some of their behaviour breaks the Police Code of Ethics. We outline this in our letter which we publish below. We look forward to hearing their response and we will keep you posted. 

---------------------------------

Dear Sir,

We are writing to the College of Policing in its capacity as the body which sets professional standards for the police. These cover: 'standards for key areas of policing which help forces and individuals provide consistency and better service for the public' This incorporates 'professional practice, standards and guidance, ethics and integrity'. You also oversee the Code of Ethics for the Police.

We would like to make a formal complaint about the practices of the LGBT+Police Network, and, in particular, its social media arm on Twitter, which can be found at @LGBTpoliceuk.

As an example of the behaviour of this organisation, and the output of its social media account, I would like to draw your attention to three tweets.

1)  "We believe that trans men are men, trans women are women, and non binary people are fabulous". 

2) "Today's historical event is in 2003 when the International Olympic Committee drew up guidelines for trans athletes. These guidelines paved the way to allow trans people to compete in the @Olympics with the gender they identified with"  

3) "We have a short message for all those posting hateful comments. We see you, we've reported your comments and we won't stop supporting trans and non binary people." 

Our complaint is, firstly, that these tweets break the Police Code of Ethics. Secondly, we would like to make you aware that behaviour like this, from the police, is causing grave concern for women. We are worried that the police do not take seriously the impact that 'gender ideology' has on our safety. 

a) These tweets break the Police Code of Ethics.

The Code of Ethics commits police to acting with "fairness and impartiality". These tweets break this rule. You must know that 'gender ideology' is highly political; is contested; and is of great concern to many women. 

• The first tweet says that 'trans women are women'. We know that they are not; biological sex is binary and immutable. The idea that men can just 'self-identify' as women endangers women. It is entirely inappropriate for the police, or any arm of it, to take a strong public position on this debate, particularly this position.
• The second tweet condones the inclusion of men (who self-identify as women) in women's sports. Again this is highly contested and is a political controversy that is current and very much unresolved across all areas of sport. 
• The third tweet is addressed to people who have pointed out what I have said above. We have been accused of hate, by the police. We have been 'reported'. When we ask who we have been reported to, these questions go unanswered. This discourteous behaviour breaks any number of elements of the Ethics Code. For example these: 
• "show compassion and empathy, as appropriate, to people you come into contact with"
•  "treat people according to their needs".

We would also argue that these tweets break a further aspect of the Code of Ethics, which states "I will not discriminate unlawfully or unfairly". Sex is a protected characteristic in the Equality Act. So is gender reassignment. The police appear to be preferencing a very broad interpretation of 'gender reassignment', and one that is not supported in law; over the concerns of women as a sex.

b) Concerns about the impact of 'gender ideology' on our safety

The third tweet tells a number of women that we have 'been reported'. For what? The implication is that we are warned not to engage in political debate about the meaning of the words 'man' and 'woman', and the implications of allowing men to 'self-identify' into women's spaces. The police seem to have decided that one side of this argument has won. This has not been condoned by Law or by Parliament. The Conservative Government, after a long consultation, chose not to make changes to the Gender Recognition Act which would have made it easier for people to get legal recognition for a change to their 'gender' marker on official documents.

Yet a public-facing police twitter account declares that 'trans women are women'. If this is so, think of the implications for women. Men, any man, can self-identify into spaces that are designated for women, such as prisons, refuges, shelters, hospital wards, toilets, and changing rooms. It hardly needs to be pointed out that this, without any gate-keeping, places women at risk. It erodes barriers of protection for women that we would argue have existed since we began the process of becoming human. The great majority of men, and the instruments of community and state, have worked to put in place safeguarding protections for women. Now we watch astonished, as the police seem to be complicit in eroding this safeguarding. This is a matter of existential seriousness for women. We fear for our safety as we see the police, who are supposed to be here to protect us, complicit in its erosion. 

Requested actions

a) Please could you explain how people can find out whether they have been 'reported' by @LGBTpoliceuk, alongside an explanation of who they have been reported to.

b) Please could you examine the activities of this group with the intent of enforcing the Police Code of Ethics.

c) Please could we meet with you to discuss this, as a matter of urgency.

Do let us know and thank you.

ConservativesforWomen