Member

Of the 26 forces that answered freedom of information questions, only one stated that it recorded biological sex clearly. Twenty-two forces recorded gender identity, 20 on the basis of self-ID. Of the 17 forces that answered the specific question on how rape suspects’ sex was recorded, 14 recorded via gender identity, with over 50% doing so on the basis of self-identification. These data recording decisions made by individual police forces affect the criminal justice system in a wide range of ways, not just in terms of data. That is because data collected by police forces are transferred to other data management systems, including the police national computer, one of the main sources of information for disclosure and barring checks. The annual data requirement provided to the Home Office for research and statistical purposes and the magistrates’ and Crown Court case management systems all use this data, but it is unreliable.