Registered sex offenders without a sex
This blog looks at Police Scotland recording policy as it applies to sexual offending statistics, and how Registered Sex Offenders are recorded under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).
Introduction
In June 2021 we lodged a petition with the Scottish Parliament Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. This called on the Scottish Parliament:
to urge the Scottish Government to require Police Scotland, the Crown Office and the Scottish Court Service to record accurately the sex of people charged with or convicted of rape or attempted rape.
In January 2024 the Committee asked Police Scotland, for a fourth time, to provide more written evidence. In its response, Police Scotland said that its policy – which provides for recording based on an individual’s self-declared gender – promoted ‘a strong sense of belonging’.
Last week, Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton raised this at First Minister’s Questions. Ms Hamilton stated it was “an insult to the victims of rape and serious assault” and that “the only strong sense that that should inspire is disgust”.
In response, the First Minister stated that recording is an “operational” matter for Police Scotland. The First Minister also stated:
In the most recent year for which published data is available—2021-22—in all convictions of rape or attempted rape, the crimes were perpetrated by males. That is a statement of fact in relation to the most recent data that is available.
First Minister John Swinney, 12 September 2024
Nonetheless, it remains the case that as a matter of policy Police Scotland allow for a man accused of rape to be recorded as a woman, if he declares himself to be one. The same is also true of other crime and offence types.
The sex/gender identification of individuals who come into contact with the police will be based on how they present or how they self-declare, which is consistent with the values of the organisation.
Police Scotland, 8 March 2024
As the Scottish Government publication Criminal Proceedings in Scotland explains, sex is:
‘generally based on how a person presents, unless an alternative gender is disclosed’.
This blog looks at Police Scotland recording policy more widely, as it applies to sexual offending statistics. We also look how Registered Sex Offenders are recorded under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). We them outline the various statements made by Police Scotland about its policy since 2019. Lastly, we discuss the recent intervention by the Scottish Police Authority, and the Police Scotland response to this.
Sexual offending statistics
Police Scotland’s recording problem and the uncertainty this generates is not confined to rape. The ‘sexual crimes’ category in the 2021/22 Criminal Proceedings Bulletin shows 38 crimes classified as female. These include four cases of sexual assault.
The small number of female cases makes this data particularly vulnerable to error. By dint of Police Scotland’s recording policy, we do not know if these crimes were committed by men or women. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to reliably track patterns of female sexual offending over time.
Females convicted of sexual crimes, Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2021/22
| Sexual crimes | Total convicted |
|---|---|
| Rape & attempted rape | – |
| Sexual assault | 4 |
| Causing to view sexual activity or images | 7 |
| Communicating indecently | 2 |
| Threatening to or disclosing intimate images | 11 |
| Indecent photos of children | 1 |
| Crimes associated with prostitution | – |
| Other sexual crimes | 13 |
| Total | 38 |
Source: Scottish Government (2023) Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2021/2022 (Table 5c).
Registered sex offender/MAPPA statistics
Statistics on Registered Sex Offenders (RSOs) throw the recording problem into an even sharper light.
A person convicted of a sexual offence is subject to notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and becomes a RSO (see further here). RSOs are managed by the police and other partners through Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). As well as RSOs, MAPPA covers Mentally Disordered Restricted Patients, and ‘Other Risk of Serious Harm Offenders’.
The details of and management of RSOs is recorded on the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR).1 This is a UK wide database used by all UK Police forces.
In Scotland, Police Scotland is responsible for collating and publishing statistics about RSOs. Separately, Scotland has ten MAPPA regions, each of which publishes an annual report.
We looked at the most recent report for each MAPPA region, to see how data on sex/gender is presented.
Of the ten regions, four did not publish a breakdown.2 Data extracted from the remaining six regions is shown below. All regions, bar Glasgow City Council, show an ‘other’ category, indicating that the data reflects both sex and gender identity.3 This suggests, for example, that trans identified male Katie Dowlatowski is likely to be shown as female in MAPPA statistics. The same principle is likely to apply to Adam Graham/Isla Bryson, on his eventual release.
Remarkably, three MAPPA regions recorded one individual under the ‘other’ category. In other words, a sex offender without a sex.
Recorded Sex Offenders by sex/gender identity and MAPPA region
| MAPPA region | Male | Female | ‘Other’ | Total | % Female | Variable name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grampian | 576 | 5 | 1 | 582 | 0.9 | Sex |
| North Strathclyde | 496 | 2 | 1 | 499 | 0.4 | Sex |
| South-West Scotland | 772 | 9 | 1 | 782 | 1.2 | Sex |
| Forth Valley | 337 | 3 | 0 | 340 | 0.9 | Sex |
| Glasgow City Council | 905 | 9 | – | 914 | 1.0 | Gender |
| Lanarkshire | 761 | 4 | 0 | 765 | 0.5 | Sex |
| Total | 3,847 | 32 | 3 | 3,882 | 0.9 |
Sources: MAPPA Grampian Annual Report 2022-2023 (page 18); MAPPA North Strathclyde Annual Report 2022-2023 (page 19); South West Scotland Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements Annual Report 2021/2022 (page 33); MAPPA Annual Report Forth Valley 2022-23 (page 10); Glasgow MAPPA Annual Report 2022-2023 (page 12); Lanarkshire MAPPA Annual Report 2023 (page 15).
Police Scotland state that there is no such thing as a ‘typical registered sex offender’.
Is there any such thing as a typical Registered Sex Offender?
In short, the answer is no. RSOs come from all walks of life and can be male or female.
Police Scotland, online
We think that this is misleading in respect of sex. Whilst it is true that sex offenders can be male or female, RSOs are, without question, typically male. Women account for less than one percent of RSOs in the data above. Even then, this figure is likely to include men.
A UK-wide problem
As indicated above, ViSOR is a UK-wide system, making this a UK-wide problem. RSOs are likewise recorded as ‘other’ by police forces in England and Wales. Ministry of Justice statistics state this category ‘covers any other gender such as gender fluid or non-binary gender’ (see Table 1b).
Where are we now
Taking an overview of developments, since 2019 Police Scotland has variously stated that:
- Its recording policy ‘evolved as best practice and ensures all people are treated fairly and with respect, in line with the Police Scotland Code of Ethics’ (it could not say when it was introduced)
- That the policy was developed in 2019, in preparation for gender recognition reform and is ‘consistent with the values of the organisation’
- That it has reviewed the policy in (it has not published the outcome)
- That it is awaiting direction and guidance from Scottish Government
- That the policy ‘adheres to legislative compliance, operational need and the values of respect, integrity, fairness and human rights whilst promoting a strong sense of belonging’.
Police Scotland has also told the Scottish Parliament that it is considering introducing a non-binary category in future IT developments.
We recognise that a person may not feel it appropriate for them to be assigned binary options and the situation will be reviewed as we roll out any new IT platforms.
Police Scotland, 8 March 2024
Case-by-case recording
In a further development, at yesterday’s Scottish Police Authority (SPA) Policing Performance Committee meeting, Deputy Chief Constable Bex Smith told Members that a ‘case-by-case’ approach is ‘key’ to its recording.
DCC Smith cited the case of Andrew Miller (referred to in Committee as the ‘Galashiels case’), a trans identified man known as ‘Amy George’. As explained to members, Police Scotland recorded Miller as male. Miller was eventually convicted of abduction, sexual assault, watching pornography in the presence of a child under the age of 13, and possessing indecent images of children.
As pointed out by a Committee member, however, it is understood that Miller asked to be recorded as male. We have previously written about recording in the Miller case and the implications of this decision.
Instead of providing clarity, yesterday’s evidence to the SPA adds yet another layer of uncertainty to an already unstable policy.
As it now stands, recording is based on how a person presents or how they self-declare. But then there can be exceptions to that.
De-sexing sexual offending
It is over three years since we submitted our petition to the Scottish Parliament Citizenship and Public Petitions Committee. Whilst the petition remains under consideration, it is disappointing that the Committee has not asked Police Scotland to give evidence in person. A request for Police Scotland to give evidence to the Criminal Justice Committee by the Deputy Convener was also rejected by SNP Committee members.
Against this backdrop, the scrutiny by the Scottish Police Authority is particularly welcome, if overdue.4 The policy will also be discussed at next week’s full Board meeting.
It is difficult to understand the rationale for recording people accused or charged with sexual offences as either the opposite sex, or extraordinarily, as not having a sex.
Statistical accuracy and coherency aside, as we have stated in relation to our petition on recording sex accurately, criminal justice statistics paint an aggregate picture but are comprised of individual incidents that reflect people’s lives and experiences.
In this respect, we think it is difficult to think of a more sexist policy than one that prioritises the wishes of those accused or charged with sexual offences, over predominantly female victims.
Notes
1. A Police Scotland Freedom of Information response stated that data on gender identity is also collected on ViSOR, although this does not appear to be searchable.
The individuals’ sex and gender identity are not notifiable information as set out in the legislation and as such, a RSO does not need to provide Police Scotland with confirmation of their sex or gender identity.
Whilst Police Scotland does record whether an RSO is a male or female on our ViSOR (Violent and Sex Offender Register) system and there is a section for recording the gender identity, it is not possible to conduct a search which would automatically retrieve a reliable breakdown of a nominal identifying as female.
As of 10th January 2024 there were 7,158 RSO’s recorded on the ViSOR system in Scotland. Of these 7,158 nominals, 7,088 are recorded as male and 70 as female. … The only way to provide you with an accurate response would be to individually examine the records for each RSO in Scotland to establish whether they have disclosed their gender identity.
Police Scotland, 30 January 2024
2. These are Tayside, Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders, Fife and the Highlands and Islands.
3. Scottish Government guidance on MAPPA provides copies of relevant documentation, such as notification and referral forms, and templates for risk management plans and meeting minutes (see page 186 onward). Most documents include an open-text ‘gender’ field.
4. In December 2021 the Scottish Police Authority Chair stated, ‘The Authority takes the evidence based view that Police Scotland’s current recording practice makes every effort to comply with the law, the guidance from the Chief Statistician for public bodies on the collection of data on sex and gender (September 2021) and the European Code of Practice.’