Fury at police force as it admits calling wanted transgender suspect a ‘woman’ in appeal

Women’s rights campaigners have reacted with fury after police referred to a wanted individual as a woman. 

In a call for public assistance published this week, Surrey Police asked for help in locating Skyla Stone, a 49-year-old wanted for failing to appear in court.

‘We are appealing for the public’s help in finding wanted woman Skyla Stone,’ read the original appeal. ‘She is described as a white, with brown hair and blue/green eyes and has links to Guildford.’

The description was followed by a picture that appeared at odds with that description, however, drawing the wrath of many observers, who accused Surrey Police of releasing misleading information that could pose a danger to the public.

Following an approach by MailOnline, the force acknowledged on Thursday afternoon that it should have referred to the suspect as a transgender woman, effectively confirming the initial feeling among campaigners. 

‘Surrey WRN suspects there is some disinformation contained within this Surrey Police statement,’ Surrey Women’s Rights Network earlier wrote on social media. ‘This could potentially place the public at risk and make it harder for this person to be located.’

The post copied in Lisa Townsend, the Surrey police and crime commissioner, who acknowledged the seemingly inaccurate nature of the language used in the appeal.

‘My views on the importance of language when describing potential offenders is pretty well known,’ wrote Townsend. 

‘I will be making it clear to the Force that however well-intentioned this may have been, it is clear to everyone that this is a male, however they choose to identify.’

Police searching for Skyla Stone, a 49-year-old wanted for failing to appear in court, referred to the defendant as a woman – a description seemingly at odds with the accompanying photo

Lisa Townsend, the police and crime commissioner for Surrey, has addressed the angry response of women’s rights campaigners and other observers on social media 

Replying to a post on X by the Surrey Women’s Rights Network, Townsend said she would be ‘making it clear’ to Surrey Police that ‘it is clear to everyone that this [picture] is [of] a male’

The controversy coincides with the release of a report highlighting concerns that the modern emphasis on gender identity has led to ‘a widespread loss of data’ on people’s biological sex.

A review led by Professor Alice Sullivan of University College London found that ‘the meaning of sex is no longer stable in administrative or major survey data’, with many public bodies losing sight of biological sex amid a focus on self-declared gender identity. 

The government-commissioned report said the conflation of biological sex and gender identity has significant implications for clinical care, health screening and safeguarding, including the possibility that crimes might be misrecorded.

‘The problems are everywhere, from NHS records that do not record biological sex to police forces that record male sex offenders as women,’ said Maya Forstater, chief executive of the human rights charity Sex Matters.

‘These corrupted data standards have been set by bureaucrats insulated from the impact of their decisions, and competing for Stonewall awards.

‘The government should swiftly implement the recommendations of the review.’

Not least among those recommendations was the suggestion that police forces should record biological sex on their computer systems, with changes based on gender identity forbidden.

‘I’ve recommended that data on sex should be collected by default in all research and data collection commissioned by government and quasi-governmental organisations, and I think implementing that would make a huge difference,’ Professor Sullivan told the Today programme.

According to the online network Seen in Journalism, Surrey Police are ‘looking into’ whether Stone is a man or a woman

‘I think we need leadership, because people are confused and they’re anxious.’

That anxiety is evident in the public response to Surrey Police’s appeal over the whereabouts of Stone, with freelance journalist Jill Foster reflecting the thoughts of many when she wrote: ‘Our police forces cannot be trusted to protect women.’

The online network Seen in Journalism reported that Surrey Police are ‘looking into’ whether Stone is a man or a woman.

One Facebook user, commenting beside the picture released by Surrey Police, claimed to know Stone and urged the public not to rush to judgment.  

‘Sky is actually a really lovely person,’ wrote Fiona Beckett. ‘I’ve known her quite some time, she has always been a gentle, kind woman (yes that’s what she identifies as!)

‘She gave me her last £2 to get a bus home after my ex left me in town, with no keys: phone: cash and I’d just come out of hospital. 

‘Not sure what she’s done, just hope she is OK. Don’t judge people you know nothing about. She’s a very interesting and intelligent character.’

Surrey Police later responded to a request for comment by confirming that the suspect should have been referred to as a transgender woman.

‘We understand concerns raised in relation to the appeal for an outstanding individual who failed to appear at court on two occasions and who we want to speak with in connection to a variety of offences,’ said Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp. 

‘Our primary objective as a Force is to fight crime and protect people and to seek justice for victims. One tactic we use in our aim of pursuing criminals relentlessly is a public appeal.

‘While we are committed to respecting an individual’s chosen personal pronouns, we have reviewed this appeal and as there remains no national guidance on this matter, we have determined that it would have been appropriate to describe the person as a transgender woman, or someone who identified as a woman, to support our objective of finding and detaining this suspect. 

‘We have since amended our public appeal to reflect this.

‘It is important to note as a police force, we adhere to Annex L of PACE, which mandates the use of self-defined gender. 

‘Therefore, at the initial point of custody or when a person is recorded on to our systems, an individual is asked how they identify, and this is recorded. 

‘Under the same legislation, it is illegal for a Force to ask an individual for a gender recognition certificate. 

‘We therefore await instruction from the National Police Chiefs Council who are preparing contextual guidance for police forces concerning the recording of protected characteristics which will inform local policy on recording and use of language.’