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Sex change Army hero Jan to become
Scotland's first 'transgender' police officer
Gentle touch:
Jan after her sex change
A paratrooper who underwent a sex-change operation has
been accepted by the police as a trainee woman constable.
Jan Hamilton, formerly Captain Ian Hamilton, quit the Army in
2007 after 20 years’ decorated service and embarked on a
full gender reassignment programme.

Now living in Glasgow, she has been accepted by Strathclyde
Police to begin two years’ probationary training, making her
Scotland’s first transgender police officer.
A source said that Miss Hamilton, 44, had ‘sailed through’ the
initial six-month selection process: ‘Jan Hamilton scored
highly in the written tests and had no problem with the fitness
tests.

'She completed the mile-and-a-half run in about 11 minutes,
even though women are allowed to take up to 16.’
The source added that senior officers had given their full
backing to her application.
The fact that Miss Hamilton was born a man will have no bearing on the way that she is expected to
operate because she is legally recognised as a woman.

For example, she will only be able to search other women, in line with police guidelines.

She will also wear the uniform of a Strathclyde Police woman constable, including the reinforced
bowler hat.
Changing hats: Jan as Ian in Iraq and right, a Strathclyde WPC
is understood that Miss Hamilton will be working in Maryhill, one of Glasgow’s most dangerous areas
Over the next two years Miss Hamilton, who will earn the standard starting salary of £21,000, will study
and train at Strathclyde Police’s Training and Recruitment Centre at Jackton, East Kilbride, and at the
Scottish Police College at Tulliallan, Fife, as well as working as a beat officer in Glasgow.

In 2007 Miss Hamilton, as Britain’s first transsexual paratrooper, took the Army to an industrial tribunal
on grounds of sex discrimination for its refusal to acknowledge her legally enforced female status.

She won her case and later received a written apology. Since then she has undergone a remarkable
physical transformation.

As Captain Ian Hamilton she weighed 16 stone, boasted of having 14in biceps and was deployed on
long-term engagements with the elite Parachute Regiment in Kenya, Oman, Kuwait, Cyprus, Germany
and Bosnia.

As Jan Hamilton she still stands at a manly 6ft but says she is five stone lighter, has a feminine figure
thanks to hormone therapy, and says she is a size 12.

Miss Hamilton is not the first transgender police officer in the UK. In 2001 North Yorkshire Police said
that, after 26 years in the force, Sergeant Chris Lamb had decided to live as a woman and would
henceforth be known as Sergeant Nicola Lamb.

A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said: ‘We cannot confirm or deny any information that constitutes
personal information. The Force actively promotes itself as an employer to all sections of the public.’
EDITORIAL NOTE: TCOPS was contacted and informed that Jan Hamilton is NOT the first or
only transgendered officer in the Scottish Police Service and that she is in fact the seventh
such officer, though she was recruited whereas the others transitioned on the job.

As a child, Kerry Bell dreamed of growing up to become a policeman -- both a police officer and a man.
Becoming a cop was relatively simple -- Bell joined the Bountiful Police Department 14 years ago.
Becoming a man took more time.

Born female, Bell came out as transgender about a year and a half ago and started a transition to a new
life as a man. He always had felt male, but did not think switching genders was a viable option until he saw
transgender people gaining wider acceptance, along with advances in medical technology.

Surprisingly, the 42-year-old -- working in what many perceive as a super-macho culture -- says he did not
fret about telling the police chief or his co-workers to start referring to him as "he," not "she."
"I wasn't worried about coming out at work," says Bell, who has had hormone treatments and surgeries.
"I've worked for Bountiful for 14 years. I know everybody I work with."

Although some employees have trouble remembering to use masculine pronouns, Bountiful Police Chief
Tom Ross says, "everyone's done a great job of accepting Kerry and staying focused on why we're here in
the first place."

Bell, a corporal and SWAT member, is a "well-rounded police officer," Ross adds. "We're glad that he
works here."

Some things about Bell's transition were easy. He did not have to wear different clothes to work. Uniforms,
he jokes, are exactly that --uniform. His first and last name also stayed the same, although he dropped a
middle name, Ann, and changed the gender marker on his driver license.
Transgender officer living his dream -- as a cop and a man
Bountiful police » 'We're glad he works here,' says chief.

By Rosemary Winters
The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 11/30/2009 08:01:49 AM MST

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13886492
Kerry Bell is a transgender man and a Bountiful police... (Leah Hogsten / The Salt Lake Tribune)
His "only anxiety," he says, was telling his parents, who divorced when Bell was 2 years old. But his mother,
his father and their spouses were supportive.

"You have to accept your children for who they are," says his dad, Terry Bell, who lives in Rockville near
Zion National Park. "It's a little difficult for me, after 40 years, to think of my daughter as a son. That's hard.
[But] it hasn't changed a thing about how I feel about him as a person."

Now, Kerry Bell works to increase understanding between his two worlds: law enforcement and the lesbian,
The relationship between the two communities has had ups and downs. A police raid on a New York gay
bar erupted into the 1969 Stonewall riots, launching the modern gay-rights movement.

wary of contacting the cops, Bell says. Some worry about whether they will be treated with respect. Others,
who are in the closet, fear being outed.

Bell belongs to the LGBT Public Safety Committee, an informal group with police representatives from
Weber County to West Valley City that has been working for nine years to bridge the gap.

The committee members help gay and transgender people understand police procedures. They coach
police on how to respond to cases of same-sex domestic violence and gay cruising in parks. In fact, they
helped launch a successful Salt Lake City program that steers those caught having sex in public places
toward counseling, not jail. If the violators do not repeat the offense for a year -- the vast majority don't --
the charges are dropped.

That many LGBT officers now serve openly at several Utah law-enforcement agencies speaks volumes to
how far society has progressed, says Salt Lake City Capt. Kyle Jones, a founding member of the
committee.

"Twenty years ago, they wouldn't have been [welcome]," says Jones, who was inspired to get involved with
the LGBT community after his son came out as gay. "The current crop of officers, by and large, don't give
it a second thought."
Jones, along with other committee members, recruits potential new officers at the annual Utah Pride "Our
department has tried for years to recruit from the populations that we represent," Jones says. percent of
our cops who are LGBT."

Bell hopes being out can help "demystify" what it means to be transgender.

As a Davis County kid, Bell says he always felt like a boy. It was something he didn't know how to express
to his family. At age 6, he gathered up all his dolls and gave them to a neighbor. He hated going to church
on Sunday because it meant he had to wear a dress.

"I thought God had just put me in the wrong body, and one day I'd wake up and I'd be the way I was
supposed to be," says Bell, a Salt Lake City resident. "Of course, you reach an age where you realize
that's not going to happen."

At 16, Bell told his parents he was attracted to women after they asked if he was gay. As a lesbian, Bell
found a home in the LGBT community. He also learned more about people who are transgender. He
looked into surgery at age 18 but decided the techniques were too "barbaric."

More than 20 years later, he decided he was ready for the change.

"I'm a generally optimistic and happy person," he says. But "I've probably felt better in the last year and a
half than I have at any point in my life."

His other joyful moments are similar to those for most police officers: helping someone in need, maybe
even hearing a "thank you."

rwinters@sltrib.com
Gender identity » One's internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman or in between. It is different
from sexual orientation, which pertains to whether a person is attracted to men, women or both sexes.

Transgender » An umbrella term for people whose gender identity or expression differs from their birth
Transsexual » A person whose gender identity is other than his or her biological sex. Transsexuals may
alter their bodies through hormones or sex reassignment surgery to align their anatomy with their
Transsexual » A person whose gender identity is other than his or her biological sex. Transsexuals may
self-perception.

Cross-dressing » To occasionally wear clothes traditionally associated with people of the other sex.
Cross-dressers usually are comfortable with their birth sex and do not wish to change it. "Cross-dresser"
intends to do so in the future.

Gender queer » A person who rejects the traditional two-gender system. It is an evolving concept, but
generally refers to those who do not consider themselves solely masculine or feminine.

Transition » A complex, long-term process of altering one's birth sex. It can include coming out, changing
one's name and sex on legal documents, hormone therapy and, possibly, surgical alteration of the chest
and/or genitals. Not all transgender individuals wish to transition to the other sex.

Source: The Utah Pride Center and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
Career » Police officer for Bountiful for 14 years.

Education » Graduated from Clearfield High and the
Utah Law Enforcement Academy at Weber State
University.

Hometown » Bell grew up in West Point but now
lives in Salt Lake City.

More on the Web
For more information about Utah's LGBT Public
Safety Committee, go to http://tinyurl.com/ylrcg3c