Sex swap police scandal
POLICE chiefs were last night accused of a scandalous misuse of taxpayers’ money after helping to set up a special support group for sex-change staff.
The National Trans Police Association is in line to pocket thousands of pounds of public money after winning the backing of senior officers.
The organisation was founded to help serving and retired police officers and civilian staff with “gender identity issues”. But critics last night accused the police authorities of wasting time and resources on politically correct initiatives instead of concentrating on fighting crime.
Tory MP Philip Davies said: “I don’t care if a police officer is gay, straight, trans-gender or whatever, I just want them to catch criminals. If they get any funds out of taxpayers’ income, that would be completely and utterly unacceptable. Everyone a few years ago said the police were institutionally racist. Now they are institutionally politically correct.”
The NTPA has about 50 members, including male and female officers who have undergone or are waiting for sex-change operations.
Others simply take on the appearance of members of the opposite sex without having “gender reassignment surgery”.
The group appeared publicly for the first time last month with a display at a three-day trans-gender festival in Manchester’s Gay Village.
They opened a mobile police station, handing out leaflets and balloons in a campaign backed by Greater Manchester Police.
Among the officers at the event was Karen Henderson, a former engineer who works as a communications officer for the force.
She said at the time: “We feel our presence here has helped the trans community understand that there is nothing to be afraid of in approaching the police to report incidents.”
She was joined at the event by Cheryl Daniels, another former engineer who now works as a community support officer for Bedfordshire Police. The group was formed after a meeting at the police staff college at Bramshill in Hampshire organised by Mike Cunningham, who was Deputy Chief Constable of Lancashire Police at the time.
He was responsible for dealing with lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-gender issues for the Association of Chief Police Officers.
According to the NTPA’s website, Mr Cunningham decided to split the portfolio because trans people’s primary issue “is about gender and not their sexuality”.
But the decision to set up the group sparked a furious backlash.
John O’Connell, policy analyst at campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “This is totally absurd and a scandalous waste of money.
“Police have the freedom to do what they like in their own time, but there’s no reason why taxpayers should fund them to lobby for their personal lifestyles. While at work officers should be united in fighting crime and these wacky initiatives to promote ‘diversity’ will only end up harming this objective.”
John Midgley, of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, said: “We don’t need organisations like this. It’s just madness.
“Why they need a segregated organisation for themselves is beyond me. There’s no place for it in the police force.”
The NTPA’s communications co-ordinator Martha Hand defended the group. She said: “We are there to represent the trans-gender community within the police service like any other staff support association.
“The police service has to reflect all the minority groups of the community they serve.”
Ms Hand is a former custody officer and now a civilian worker with the Lothian and Borders force and is hoping to complete a sex change from man to woman. She said the organisation would be applying for public funds to promote its work.
Last night ACPO said: “Diversity staff associations play a key role in helping forces to effectively police our communities.
“Although ACPO regards its relationship with these staff associations as hugely valuable, ACPO is not responsible for the setting up or the running of staff associations.”
The Home Office said: “We have not provided any funding for the National Trans Police Association.”
Meanwhile it also emerged yesterday that police are delivering birthday cakes to offenders in a bid to cut crime. They hand out cards that read: “On your birthday we wish you well, we would hate to see you in a cell. Time to change your ways, go straight, if you don’t, you know your fate.” Chief Inspector Andy Boyd, of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, who pays for the cakes himself, says the move spells out to offenders that police are closely monitoring them.
Crime in the area has fallen by 18 per cent in the past five months.
