Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is their policy that police officers assigned as male at birth who now identify as women should be allowed to strip search female suspects and, if not, what advice they will offer to the National Police Chiefs’ Council and to police forces which currently allow this practice.

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and the PACE Codes of Practice have clear same-sex provisions in relation to the conduct of certain searches of persons by police officers.

All searches conducted in custody, including strip searches, as well as searches undertaken under stop and search powers involving the removal of more than an outer jacket and certain other garments, must be conducted by an officer of the same sex as the detainee.

It is not right, safe or respectful to women for an officer who is biologically male but who has simply self-identified as female to be able to conduct a strip search of a woman.

Whilst respecting the operational independence of the police, the Government expects chief constables to ensure that their force policies comply with all legal obligations, including under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and Equalities Act 2010.