In more than half of arrests of women who were possibly expecting a baby, some form of force was reportedly used by London police
ITV News reported some disturbing statistics regarding use of force by UK police when arresting potentially pregnant women.
The Metropolitan Police Service alone disclosed having records of 2,556 such occasions over a period of two-and-a-half years. This comprised more than a half of 4,117 arrests, in which the woman taken into custody reported she was or could have been pregnant.
The revelation comes as New Scotland Yard finds itself under increased scrutiny in the wake of a damning report about bullying, racism, and misogyny in its ranks. Met Commissioner Cressida Dick announced her resignation this week, citing London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s lack of confidence in her ability to lead the force.
The figures cited by ITV News on Friday were obtained through a series of Freedom of Information Act requests to police forces throughout Britain. The statistics cover the time between January 2018 and June 2021.
The definition of force ranges from “compliant handcuffing and the drawing of a baton, to the use of dogs, irritant spray, body restraints, spit hoods and use of a Taser,” the report said.
The Met records don’t show whether women told officers they were or could be pregnant before force was applied to them, including in cases where the more serious methods were used.
Spit hoods, devices that are meant to protect officers from being spit at or bitten by the arrestee, were used 302 times on potentially pregnant women. Critics say such devices make it hard for officers to notice if the arrestee develops breathing problems. On three separate occasions, officers shot their Tasers at women.
The youngest possibly pregnant person to be arrested by the Met with the use of force was a 12-year-old girl who was taken into custody in 2020. There are similar records of arrested girls – one at age 13 in 2018 and another at 14 the following year.
Officers in West Yorkshire, which has the fourth largest police department in England and Wales, appear to have the same propensity to use force against women as do their colleagues in London, ITV News suggested. West Yorkshire recorded 757 arrests in which the woman stated she was pregnant on a risk assessment form. Of those arrests, force or restraint was used in around 470 cases.
Officers used “hard physical control” techniques 70 times in West Yorkshire when arresting possibly pregnant women. On six occasions they used incapacitant spray, and spit hoods twice.
Data from 15 other forces obtained by ITV News showed at least 3,818 arrests of women, who told officers they were pregnant or possibly pregnant. Force or restraint was used on 275 occasions, according to records.
Charities that the news outlet asked for comments on the statistics expressed concerns over police officers using harsh measures like Tasers and pepper spray against pregnant women.
“Those methods must be a last resort across the board. There has to be a very strong justification for them to be used because of the risks involved,” said Naomi Delap, Director of Birth Companions.
“Most women in trouble should not be arrested at all,” said Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, arguing, “an arrest can be a damaging and traumatic event.”
Police forces told ITV News their officers are trained to assess a situation and use a measure of force necessary to protect themselves and other people involved in a particular case, including those they take into custody.
