Scotland’s jails ditch Nicola Sturgeon’s transgender self-ID policy and promise to send criminals to jails matching their biological sex

• Report filed over decision to send trans rapist Isla Bryson to women’s prison  
• Analysis of key findings left a number of unanswered questions

Scotland’s prisons have abandoned Nicola Sturgeon’s self-identification policy for transgender prisoners – and promised to send convicts to jails matching their biological sex.

In a major climbdown, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) confirmed all newly convicted trans prisoners will initially be placed in a jail based on their birth sex until a wider review is completed.

A report into the decision to send trans rapist Isla Bryson, 31, to the Cornton Vale women’s prison claimed no female prisoners were put at risk.

But an analysis of the key findings of the report left a number of unanswered questions, including whether female staff had been made vulnerable.

Pictured: Nicola Sturgeon. In a major climbdown, the Scottish Prison Service confirmed all newly convicted trans prisoners will initially be placed in a jail based on their birth sex until a wider review is completed

In a summary of the review sent to Justice Secretary Keith Brown, SPS chief executive Teresa Medhurst said: ‘At no time did the individual come into contact with any other prisoners at the establishment.’

However, it makes no reference to whether Bryson made contact with female staff.

One of the key recommendations of the review was that a ‘shared justice process’ should be created to improve decision-making about transgender prisoners. It says this could address the ‘conflicting and limited information’ about Bryson, and would include better communications and information-sharing processes to support when making decisions about admission.

It also said that discussions are taking place with police and courts services to set up a ‘clearer approach’ to the transfer of transgender individuals from court to prison custody.

A report into the decision to send trans rapist Isla Bryson, 31, (pictured at the High Court in Glasgow) to the Cornton Vale women’s prison claimed no female prisoners were put at risk. But an analysis of the key findings of the report left a number of unanswered questions, including whether female staff had been made vulnerable

A wider review, expected to be published in the coming months, will also look at ‘how the SPS should consider the weight of an individual’s previous offending history as part of the case conference process’.

The movement of any transgender prisoner with a history of violence against women was paused last month after the outrage over Bryson’s placement.

At Holyrood yesterday, Ms Sturgeon refused to say whether she believes that Bryson should be treated as a man or a woman when released from prison.

She also refused to say if she thought another transgender prisoner, Tiffany Scott – who stalked a 13-year-old girl while known as Andrew Burns and later attacked female prison officers – is a man or a woman.

Source: Read Full Article