FOI 289-2025 / Mar 2025 / Gender
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 289-2025
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 5th March 2025 as follows:
Please can you advise me what your policy is on the gender and pronouns you use when a suspect/criminal is transgender? My enquiry relates to the recording of crimes and public communications/press releases, not internal HR procedures for police officers.
Please can you give me direct answers to the following questions.
- Would the force describe someone as having a gender and/or pronouns that are different to their birth sex if they DO NOT have a gender recognition certificate (GRC)? E.g. if a person born male identifies as a woman but does not have a GRC, would you call them a woman and use she/her pronouns?
- Would the force describe someone as having a gender and/or pronouns that are different to their birth sex if they DO have a gender recognition certificate (GRC)? E.g. if a person born male identifies as a woman and has a GRC, would you call them a woman and use she/her pronouns?
- In cases of rape, which requires male genitalia to commit, would the force use she/her pronouns and record the suspect/culprit's gender as female, if they identity as a woman but DO NOT have a GRC?
- In cases of rape, which requires male genitalia to commit, would the force use she/her pronouns and record the suspect/culprit's gender as female, if they identity as a woman and DO have a GRC?
Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Warwickshire Police do not hold any specific recorded information in relation to your request. Please note that the Act only extends to requests for recorded information and does not require public authorities to answer questions if this would mean creating new information, or giving an opinion or judgement that is not already recorded.
Outside of the Act and as a gesture of goodwill, I can advise that the Crime Recording System includes fields for ‘Sex’ and ‘Self-defined Gender’.
Sex relates to an individual’s legal sex (the law determines that where an individual holds a GRC, they have legally changed their sex).
Where an individual identifies as a different gender to their legal sex, this may be recorded in the self-defined gender field (otherwise this field is blank). There is no explicit field to record transgender status, although there is a free text field entitled ‘Reason to treat as different gender’. However, the Crime Recording System includes records for individuals for each investigation (iterations, correct at the time of that investigation) and a composite (master) record. If an individual is transgender, this could be ascertained from the iterations over time.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as accurate as possible.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write or email the Freedom of Information Unit quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Officer
Freedom of Information Unit
Warwickshire Police
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwickshire
CV35 7QB