Trans criminals cannot escape records by changing names, justice secretary says

Trans criminals cannot escape their offences by changing their names, justice secretary Angela Constance has said.

Police Scotland and the Crown Office have faced calls for an immediate review of their record-keeping after it emerged that convictions were missing from a list compiled on a convicted murderer.

Trans prisoner Alex Stewart, previously known as Alan Baker, is serving a life sentence for the knife murder of a father-of-two.

However, in documents prepared for a court case, no convictions were listed against Stewart's current name.

The Crown Office said Police Scotland was responsible for the error, which has prompted concerns about the potential for convicted criminals to conceal their pasts.

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Constance said “criminal records cannot and are not rewritten or erased on the basis of gender identity”.

She said: “It is utterly inaccurate and misleading and somewhat disingenuous, if not disgraceful, to suggest that Police Scotland wipe criminal records. Under no circumstances do Police Scotland wipe criminal records and under no circumstances can anyone, irrespective of their name, status, whether they're male, female, transgender, can they escape from a criminal past; they cannot.”

Constance said Police Scotland had acknowledged an “error” in the case and had been asked to review its systems and procedures. 

Meghan Gallacher, the former deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said the case proved legal records could be “obscured” as a result of self-identification and an official change of name. 

She said: “We need to ensure that victims, women’s groups and the wider public have faith in the justice system when the government is looking at these issues because we need to know if there have been instances when authorities have missed a criminal, a person's criminal record because they've changed their gender.”

Calling for a full audit, Alba's Ash Regan said “systemic data corruption” had allowed people to “reinvent themselves” away from their criminal records.

Constance said: “There can be no separation of any individual, irrespective of their gender, irrespective of their sexual identity, irrespective of their name, irrespective of how often someone changes their name - no individual can be separated from their criminal past and that is because, irrespective of the reason of any name change, knowing someone's identity is absolutely critical and, as has been narrated, this was a failure to disclose, and disclosure responsibilities are crucially important, and this matter was rectified.

“I have been assured that it's not a reflection on data recording systems, and, as is widely understood and has been discussed in this chamber, Police Scotland will be undertaking and are in the process of undertaking a wider review holistically of recording issues in relation to trans people.”