A High Court ruling in England has supported the legal principle behind a Police Scotland policy that allows transgender detainees, in certain circumstances, to request an intimate search by an officer of their lived gender.
The decision is significant for trans people because strip searches are inherently intrusive, and being searched by someone of a gender they are uncomfortable with can raise serious questions of dignity and privacy.
However, the ruling does not mean transgender detainees have an automatic right to choose the gender of the officer searching them.
Police Scotland’s standard position remains that searches requiring the removal of more than outer clothing should be conducted on the basis of biological sex.
Its interim policy creates an exception where a trans person specifically asks to be searched by an officer of their lived gender.
What does Police Scotland’s policy actually say?
Police Scotland introduced interim guidance in June 2025 following the UK Supreme Court’s landmark For Women Scotland judgment.
That judgment found that the terms “woman”, “man” and “sex” in the UK Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex.
Police Scotland subsequently said searches involving the removal of more than a jacket, gloves, headgear or footwear would ordinarily be carried out on the basis of biological sex.
However, its guidance provides an exception for transgender people.
If a person whose lived gender differs from their biological sex asks to be searched by an officer of their lived gender, Police Scotland says efforts should be made to accommodate the request where operationally possible.
Importantly, this is a consent-based process.
Written consent is required from the transgender person being searched, the officer or officers conducting the search, and an authorising officer of inspector rank or above.
That means a female officer, for example, cannot simply be compelled under this exception to conduct a strip search of a transgender woman.
What did the High Court decide?
The latest case was brought by campaign group Sex Matters and concerned police guidance applying in England and Wales rather than Police Scotland itself.
Mr Justice Linden rejected the argument that an intimate or strip search must always be performed by an officer of the same biological sex as the person being searched.
The ruling found that, in principle, a person can give genuine consent to being searched by an officer of a different biological sex, provided the other legal requirements governing the search are satisfied.
That distinction is important.
The High Court did not rule on the legality of Police Scotland’s policy, nor does an English policing judgment automatically determine Scottish policing procedures.
Instead, its reasoning supports the underlying proposition on which Police Scotland’s exception relies: that genuine consent can permit a search involving people of different biological sexes in appropriate circumstances.
Sex Matters plans to appeal
Sex Matters, which brought the High Court challenge, disagrees with that interpretation and intends to appeal.
The organisation argues that intimate searches should be conducted exclusively on the basis of biological sex.
It has also raised concerns about the rights and privacy of female police officers, arguing they should not be put in the position of strip-searching transgender women who are biologically male.
Police Scotland’s approach attempts to address that concern by requiring the consent of the officer conducting the search, as well as the person being searched.
The issue therefore involves potentially competing considerations around sex, gender identity, privacy, dignity, consent and the responsibilities of police officers.
Why does this matter for trans detainees?
Strip searches represent a significant intrusion into a person’s privacy and bodily autonomy regardless of whether that person is cisgender or transgender.
For a trans person, however, being required to remove clothing in front of an officer of a gender they are uncomfortable with may create additional distress or dysphoria.
That is part of the reason consent matters in this debate.
Police Scotland has said its objectives include preserving people’s dignity, complying with its obligations under the Equality Act and Human Rights Act, and protecting officers and staff from legal challenges.
Its policy also makes clear that accommodating a request from a transgender detainee depends on whether an appropriate officer is available and willing to conduct the search.
It is therefore more limited than some descriptions of the policy might suggest.
How often has the exception been used?
The available evidence suggests the exception has been used extremely rarely.
A Scottish Police Authority update in March 2026 said only one strip search had been conducted under the consent-based procedure rather than according to biological sex.
That search took place in police custody and no issues or concerns were reported.
The small number is significant when assessing claims about the practical consequences of the policy.
It suggests the provision currently operates primarily as an exception for individual circumstances rather than as the routine method for searching transgender detainees.
Scotland’s rules are still changing
Police Scotland’s current position is temporary.
The force describes its rules as interim guidance while Scotland develops revised national guidance governing police searches.
The Scottish Government has been conducting the first comprehensive review of its Stop and Search Code of Practice since the code was introduced in 2017.
A draft revised code published for consultation in February 2026 includes specific guidance concerning sex, gender and searches of transgender people.
Police Scotland told the Scottish Police Authority that its initial assessment found the draft code broadly aligned with its existing interim approach.
The final version has been expected around September 2026 and, once introduced, is expected to supersede Police Scotland’s interim guidance in this area.
A question of consent, privacy and dignity
The High Court judgment does not settle the wider political and legal debate surrounding sex and gender in the UK.
Nor does it give transgender detainees an unrestricted right to choose who searches them.
What it does establish is an important legal distinction: conducting searches according to biological sex can remain the default while allowing for exceptions based on genuine consent.
For LGBTQ+ communities, that distinction matters.
Trans people detained by police retain rights to privacy and dignity, just as police officers themselves have rights and protections when carrying out highly intimate procedures.
A consent-based system attempts to recognise both.
With Sex Matters intending to appeal and Scotland preparing revised national guidance, the legal position could continue to evolve.
For now, however, Police Scotland’s policy remains clear: searches involving the removal of more than outer clothing are generally conducted according to biological sex, but transgender people can request an officer of their lived gender — provided everyone required to participate agrees.
