Woman spent night in male prison after being mistaken for man
Police reviewing procedures after woman reportedly housed in maximum-security HMP Perth overnight
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A woman reportedly spent the night in a male prison in Scotland after authorities mistook her for a man, in a justice system bungle that has sparked a police review.
Police Scotland said it was investigating how the womanās gender was misidentified, leading her to be remanded in the menās facility instead of the countryās only womenās prison after she appeared in Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on October 21.
A force spokesperson said the woman was remanded into the custody of the Scottish Prison Service last Monday with āincomplete information about their gender.ā
āWe are reviewing our custody procedure to ensure this does not happen again,ā the spokesperson said.
The error was first reported by The Telegraph, who quoted a justice system source describing the episode as a āshockerā.
![The woman was reportedly held at the male prison HMP Perth](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/28/12/Perth-Front-1-copy.jpg)
The source told the newspaper: āAn assumption was made, based on someoneās appearance and not much else. Gender in the prison system has become such a hot topic that management will be mortified by this.
āIt was only when the more thorough search was carried out by prison staff that it came to light that the prisoner was missing some vital parts you might expect a man to have.ā
The Telegraph reported the woman was forced to stay overnight in the menās prison, said to be the maximum-security HMP Perth. Authorities declined to confirm this.
Scotlandās justice system was recently mired in controversy over the topic of gender, when rapist Isla Bryson, who transitioned to female after assaulting two women, was initially housed in a womenās prison before being sentenced in 2023.
The episode prompted the Scottish Prison Service to update its admissions policy last December, clarifying people would be admitted on the basis of their sex at birth.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson declined to comment on the womanās individual circumstances, but said the authority had procedures to keep people safe when admitted into custody, āincluding keeping them separate from the mainstream population where appropriate.ā
āThe rights, safety, and wellbeing of all individuals, including those newly admitted to our care, is a key priority,ā the spokesperson said.