End authoritarian policing
Tell Gwent police to use common sense
victory
Tell Gwent police to use common sense
On Sunday, 23 January, disabled womens’ rights activist Jennifer Swayne was arrested for posting stickers that protested gender ideology. These stickers contained no mention of either the transgender community or transgender individuals; they merely pointed out domestic violence statistics and biological facts.
During the arrest, Ms Swayne was subject to police brutality that included twisting her arm, which contains splints for her rheumatoid arthritis behind her back, causing her to cry out in pain, and then lifted her into the back of a police van, where she was forced to lie on her back, next to her mobility scooter.
After being held for 10 hours without access to her vital medications, Ms Swayne was interviewed in the early hours of the morning on suspicion of vandalism and public order offences, with hate crime as an aggravating factor. Despite being held in custody for such an extended period, Jenni was only given a bowl of cornflakes to eat.
Worst still, Ms Swayne, who is vulnerable because of her disabilities, was eventually released at 3.30 am on her mobility scooter, without access to her phone. Her route home involved a journey in the dark, with no light on her scooter, up a steep hill and along a road that ranks as Britain’s 6th most violent.
Immediately after her arrest, Gwent police obtained a warrant to search Ms Swayne’s home for ‘any material of a transphobic nature that could be used in the commission of a hate crime’. As well as confiscating her stickers and posters, Gwent police also removed a book - a series of essays about gender dysphoria in children edited by prominent academic Heather Brunskell-Evans and Ms Swayne’s notes on this book.
This is chilling. Gwent police appear to have been raiding the property of a disabled activist to literally ‘check her thinking’. This type of behaviour has no place in an open and democratic society.
In the meantime, following news of Jennifer’s arrest, activists have been peppering lamposts and bus shelters in Gwent with stickers in support of gender ideology which are infinitely more offensive than anything Ms Swayne may have posted, containing images of transgender women carrying guns and profane language.
Like Jennifer Swayne, the male activists responsible for these gratuitously offensive stickers are identifiable, however, Gwent police appear to be ignoring their activity. The activists even claim to have support from Gwent police, who support their side of the transgender debate.
Sign the petition letting Pam Kelly, the Chief Constable of Gwent Police and Jeff Cuthbert, the elected police and crime commissioner for the area, know how scandalised you are by the behaviour of their police force. Demand that the investigation into Jennifer Swayne is dropped.
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Do not prosecute Jennifer Swayne
To Pam Kelly, Chief Constable Gwent Police and Jeff Cuthbert, Police and Crime Commissioner Gwent
I wish to express my disquiet over the treatment of disabled womens’ rights activist Jennifer Swayne. She was arrested and is now subject to a criminal investigation for posting stickers protesting gender ideology.
I am concerned about the treatment meted out towards Ms Swayne, including the use of force exercised upon a physically vulnerable woman, which does not appear to be a proportionate use of police resources. Ms Swayne was subject to physical violence and humiliation, being forced to lie in the police van on her back, with her legs on top of her mobility scooter and then held for over ten hours without access to her vital medication and only given a bowl of cornflakes during her time in custody.
None of the stickers or posters that Ms Swayne has been accused of posting contains any hateful or supposedly transphobic content; there is no mention of the transgender community or transgender individuals; instead, they contain facts about domestic violence and appeals for appeals the safety of women.
It is disturbing that police officers saw fit to obtain a warrant to search Ms Swayne’s home for possession of political material deemed to be ‘transphobic’ in nature and that during the search, a copy of a book, readily available on the High Street, containing a collection of essays, together with Ms Swayne’s notes on the book, was removed.
Gwent police do not appear to be applying the law consistently or fairly. No action has been taken against another identifiable political activist who is openly affixing stickers of a political nature to public furniture. Unlike the stickers allegedly placed by Ms Swayen, these stickers contain implicit threats of violence and feature a transgender woman with a gun. Still, the activist has boasted of police support because of the pro-transgender nature of the messaging.
The police should be acting without fear or favour and applying the law equally.
Affixing easily removable stickers to public furniture is not a serious criminal offence. Ms Swayne clearly poses no threat to society. The decision to detain a vulnerable disabled woman and raid her home for evidence of her political views is not only a waste of scarce police resources, but it is also a chilling attack on individual freedoms.
It is clearly not in the public interest to prosecute a disabled woman for such a trivial matter. The treatment of Jennifer Swayne is a scandal that brings Gwent police into disrepute which will further undermine public confidence in the police force.
I urge you to drop your investigation and apologise to Ms Swayne.
Yours sincerely,
Do not prosecute Jennifer Swayne
To Pam Kelly, Chief Constable Gwent Police and Jeff Cuthbert, Police and Crime Commissioner Gwent
I wish to express my disquiet over the treatment of disabled womens’ rights activist Jennifer Swayne. She was arrested and is now subject to a criminal investigation for posting stickers protesting gender ideology.
I am concerned about the treatment meted out towards Ms Swayne, including the use of force exercised upon a physically vulnerable woman, which does not appear to be a proportionate use of police resources. Ms Swayne was subject to physical violence and humiliation, being forced to lie in the police van on her back, with her legs on top of her mobility scooter and then held for over ten hours without access to her vital medication and only given a bowl of cornflakes during her time in custody.
None of the stickers or posters that Ms Swayne has been accused of posting contains any hateful or supposedly transphobic content; there is no mention of the transgender community or transgender individuals; instead, they contain facts about domestic violence and appeals for appeals the safety of women.
It is disturbing that police officers saw fit to obtain a warrant to search Ms Swayne’s home for possession of political material deemed to be ‘transphobic’ in nature and that during the search, a copy of a book, readily available on the High Street, containing a collection of essays, together with Ms Swayne’s notes on the book, was removed.
Gwent police do not appear to be applying the law consistently or fairly. No action has been taken against another identifiable political activist who is openly affixing stickers of a political nature to public furniture. Unlike the stickers allegedly placed by Ms Swayen, these stickers contain implicit threats of violence and feature a transgender woman with a gun. Still, the activist has boasted of police support because of the pro-transgender nature of the messaging.
The police should be acting without fear or favour and applying the law equally.
Affixing easily removable stickers to public furniture is not a serious criminal offence. Ms Swayne clearly poses no threat to society. The decision to detain a vulnerable disabled woman and raid her home for evidence of her political views is not only a waste of scarce police resources, but it is also a chilling attack on individual freedoms.
It is clearly not in the public interest to prosecute a disabled woman for such a trivial matter. The treatment of Jennifer Swayne is a scandal that brings Gwent police into disrepute which will further undermine public confidence in the police force.
I urge you to drop your investigation and apologise to Ms Swayne.
Yours sincerely,
