MBM response to Police Scotland’s evidence on recording sex accurately in cases of rape

“We are pleased that Police Scotland has moved to support our petition, and the wider principle of accurately recording sex across all crime types, as well trans status where relevant.

We welcome the commitment to following the recommendations of the Sullivan Review and to prioritising this work.

Recognising the need for consistent, reliable data and the moral imperative underpinning our petition, the Chief Constable has now drawn a line under the confusion in this area, and set a clear standard for other police forces to follow.

We also welcome the commitment to engage with the Police SEEN Network.

We hope that this balanced and respectful approach signals a fresh start for Police Scotland, not only in relation to data, but in its handling of issues around sex and gender identity more widely.

A question remains as to how the Chief Constable’s predecessors and their senior colleagues allowed the capture of the force’s policies and practices, to the detriment of something so basic as the accurate recording of sex in criminal investigations. It should not have taken so many years of pressure and scrutiny to get Police Scotland to abandon its defence of recording some male offenders as women, so that this ended up in the overflowing inbox of the current Chief Constable.”