A pensioner was investigated by police officers after she took a photo of a “keep males out of women-only spaces” sticker.
The retired-social worker, who was questioned on suspicion of committing a hate crime, took a photo of the sticker that was covering an LGBT+ pride poster.
The poster, placed in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, read “Stand By Your Trans”.
West Yorkshire police soon turned up at her home and recorded the incident as a non-crime hate incident (NCHI).
The original poster that was covered up by the sticker
HappyValleyPride.com
The 73-year-old was told by police that they had identified her from CCTV footage, which left her in a “state of shock”.
The woman, who agreed with the message of the sticker, said she did not share the photo online and only took the picture to show her partner at home.
“They gave me a long lecture about the sensitivity of the issue, and how something like this could cause harassment and alarm to the community,” she told the Mail on Sunday.
“They were investigating it as a hate crime, which is outrageous. I was in a state of shock.”
Officers had given her “words of advice… regards the harassment and alarm that this sticker could potentially cause to the community,” according to the police log which the woman obtained via a data access request.
The former social worker, who does not want to be named, asserted that she did not place the sticker herself.
She also claimed that the LGBT+ community group Happy Valley Pride, which put up the original poster, were the ones that reported her to the police.
The pensioner had earlier written to the group, voicing her concerns of allowing transgender women into female-only areas.
“I think they wanted to correct my thinking,” she said to the Mail on Sunday.
“They are getting involved in a very divided and toxic debate, but it's not their role to arbitrate political disagreements. I felt as if they were trying to gag a dissenting voice by harassing me in my own home.”
Harry Miller, a former police officer and founder of the free speech group Fair Cop, called out West Yorkshire Police.
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Home Secretary Suella Braverman, announced plans to reduce the number of NCHIs being given out by police
PA“How can a woman photographing a sticker cause alarm and distress to the Happy Valley Pride community? There is politically correct rot at the heart of West Yorkshire policing.”
Miller set up the group after he was investigated for a NCHI for posting a poem on social media which implied that transgender women are still men.
Earlier this year, Home Secretary Suella Braverman, announced plans that would stop police from issuing NCHIs just because somebody was insulted.
The plans aim to reduce the number of NCHIs, with over 120,000 people receiving one in the last five years.
Police officers will only be able to hand out a NCHI if the act was motivated by hostility and could lead to a serious threat.
