Feedback to both the Metropolitan Police Service and PrideLondon was that it was a day of celebration and festivities with an appropriate police response which met the needs of all communities.

 

Police dealt with a number of incidents that day which they resolved with the least disruption to people’s enjoyment of the day.

 

Regrettably for all the organisations involved in the management of this event, an incident occurred which caused great offence to members of the Trans community.

 

The incident took place in the public toilets within Trafalgar Square where a Trans woman was denied access to the female toilets.

 

As a result a number of Trans community members decided to stage a demonstration within the entry area to the toilets, an argument ensued, and the steward at the toilets was barged and pushed up against a wall, and inappropriate language was used.

 

An off duty police officer, a LGBT liaison officer, who was in the area at the time intervened at this stage.  One of the officer's primary concerns being that some of the trans community members, having previously participated in the parade, still had their placards with them and during the growing arguments, he felt that these could inadvertantly cause injury through escalating tensions and heated exchanges. The officer took action to reduce those immediate tensions and ascertained facts from both the steward and the trans woman involved.  

The officer's actions included attaining an apology for the Trans woman, an offer to act as her witness should she wish to take the matter further and he also provided his name and details should she wish to contact him further.   The officer then left believing that all actions he had taken were of satisfactory outcome.

 

The MPS also reviewed the CCTV footage outside the public toilets.

 

Neither party wished to make a formal complaint at the time against the other party.

 

It is deeply regretted by the MPS and PrideLondon, that Trans community members were denied access to these facilities.

 

It is the firm view of both organisations that the Trans woman involved should never have been denied access to the women’s toilets, and members of the Trans community should have been able to attend this event and feel supported by diverse communities who they are close to.    

The MPS and PrideLondon recognise the depth of hurt, and frustration felt by the Trans community around this incident, and both organisations took immediate action to ascertain what had occurred.

 

Last Saturday it was my privilege to take part in the Pride march at the head of the police officers and staff representing the Metropolitan Police Service. We were alongside colleagues from other emergency services, from the army, the navy and the air force. I am proud that the MPS is the uniformed service with the longest history of participation in this event since I believe it is a sign of the progress over some time now that my organisation has been making.

 

Having regarded my day so positively I was greatly disappointed to learn that events on Trafalgar Square had caused such anger and inflicted damage on what we all acknowledge is a fragile relationship between transgender people and the police. The details of that incident have been examined and I think there is finally clarity about what happened and who played what part. It is clear to me that the motivation and actions of the police officer involved were positive and he has my full support. We expect extraordinary things from our officers and I am pleased that although off duty, he regarded it as his duty to become involved where he saw a situation developing.

 

The events of the day are being addressed by the various organisations involved. Clearly inappropriate decisions were made and inappropriate words said. Those specifics are being or have already been addressed.

 

The issue at the heart of events over the last few days is much wider. That issue is about the nature and quality of relationships and engagement between police and transgender people. There is no doubt that we are at the early stages of the journey. The aim must be to get to a point where the relationship is sufficiently robust that it can survive the setbacks that will inevitably occur. The vision is getting to a position where policing services are delivered to victims, witnesses, suspects and every other member of our communities in a way that is fair, just, professional, compassionate and respectful of the particular needs of individuals. For members of our communities, this must be the case because that is what you have a right to expect. For the MPS this must be the case because we can only succeed if we have the trust and the confidence of the people we work for.

 

My organisation is committed to doing the right thing but we know we need help along the way. We know that we have to have a dialogue where we can hear and respond to the needs identified by transgender people so that we get it right. We also need to be able to explain the limitations on our powers and resources so that the expectations are informed and realistic.

 

I hope that we can use the events of last weekend in a positive way – as a catalyst for progress. At the Gold Group I chaired on 9 July (consisting of a wide range of people, not just police) it was agreed that I should extend an invitation to an open discussion of how and what we need to consider to  make effective progress on transgender matters. A meeting wont solve all the problems but will at least open another channel of communication. Details will be made available in due course but please be assured I am up for the discussion.

8th August 2008

 

 

On Tuesday evening, 29th July, I together with other MPS colleagues, met with a number of people from the transgender communities in an open meeting in Westminster. This meeting came about as a consequence of events during Pride celebrations on 5 July.

 

The meeting generated a lively and helpful discussion about a range of issues covering the relevant incidents and wider issues of trust and confidence between the police and trans people. There were a number of areas talked about where I believe the MPS can now make further progress as a result.

 

The point was made, a number of times during the evening, about the need for us all to listen to and learn from each other.

 

Part of the learning has been about the impact on the trans communities of early responses from the MPS. In particular, it is clear that my "open letter" had a very different impact from the one I intended. My intention was to provide reassurance that a senior officer had taken ownership and was determined to learn the organisational lessons that would undoubtedly emerge.

 

I offer my personal and sincerest apology that my letter did not have the effect I had intended and upon closer reflection I can see why this caused deep upset to some of the trans communities. It was never my intention to suggest that my officer's actions would not be investigated or that there would be no need to offer advice and improved training to him and his colleagues.

 

It is clear that members of the trans communities and the officer found themselves involved in a set of circumstances for which the trans communities were not responsible. They were clearly the victims. It has been claimed that the demonstrators assaulted stewards - examination of CCTV evidence demonstrates that these claims are mistaken. Despite the best endeavours and intentions of the officer, these obviously came across in a way, which caused misinterpretation, confusion and hurt.

 

I hope that the response of the MPS speaks more loudly than my initial choice of words. We have taken ownership of the issues at a very senior level; we have circulated advice about the GRA to our officers; we have resolved the complaint against the police officer to the satisfaction of the party involved and continue to investigate with full vigour a number of criminal offences connected with these events. We have also, of course, held an open meeting to maintain dialogue with the community.

 

I have asked the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate to hold a de-brief of these events with MPS practitioners to ensure we get the maximum learning from them. I know that a significant issue to be taken forward is the raising of awareness and training of our staff and the Diversity & Citizen Focus Directorate are now looking at options that further expand our developing partnerships with our transgender support associations who can assist us with our continued learning of this complex arena of diversity.

 

We have to start from where we are, not where we would like to be. Mistakes have been made and I and certainly my colleagues within the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate are aware of the disappointment and anxieties the trans communities have felt over this highly regrettable incident. We have for some years striven to understand the many issues, which beset the trans communities and in so many ways we have succeeded in listening and responding.

 

Obviously the MPS has let you down on this occasion for which we have to double our efforts to repair and restore the much needed trust and confidence which can enable us to progress these issues in order to deliver very real and meaningful change.

 

Regards

 

Steve Allen

Commander