Do you have to be woke to be a police officer?

According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, a serving police officer in her thirties (we will call her Sandra) anonymously emailed recruitment units at 26 forces who had advertised jobs for PCs. In her emails, she asked if her gender-critical views would be a barrier to her application, saying that, ‘While I am firmly against abuse and discrimination to trans people, I do not believe you can change your biological sex’. Two of the forces that replied – one, ironically, her own – said that this admission of belief would be a bar to her employment.

She challenged Norfolk Police on this, pointing out that all except a small minority thought as she did, including many police officers. A Norfolk Police spokesman responded with some mechanistic prose about inclusivity, while one of its recruitment consultants asked Sandra to give details of any officers who thought as she did so they could be ‘investigated’.

Now, it may well be true that this was a provocative probing exercise on Sandra’s part: we don’t know. Whoever read Sandra’s email probably asked their supervisor for advice, and would have been told her application had trouble written all over it – that her beliefs becoming public might not only cause reputational damage but could also create problems under the Equality Act. The episode is nevertheless an outrage.

Non cult members need not apply, it seems. If you don't believe that a balding chomo in a sundress ~stunning and brave~ woman then you'll be "investigated" right out of a job.