Philadelphia PD Revamps Policies For Dealing With Transgender
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia Police Department is rolling out a new policy for interactions with members of the transgender community.
"This is one of things that the department needed to do to make sure that we are treating people fairly and in the proper way," Philadelphia Police spokesman Lt. John Stanford told KYW Newsradio today.
Stanford says the new guidelines will govern how police search transgender suspects and how officers refer to them on paperwork and in the media
"The government-issued identification (gender) will be what we list on paperwork," Stanford says, "but if they have another name, that name will also be listed on the paperwork as an alias."
He says transgender suspects are transported and housed separately from other detainees when possible.
Ted Martin, executive director of Eqality Pennsylvania, says the transgender community gets the lion's share of discrimination in the LGBT community, so he's applauding the police effort.
"I hope many other communities across Pennsylvania take the lead of Philadelphia and do the same thing," he said.
The Philadelphia police department is planning to incorporate the new transgender policy into its officer training.