The Police Know, But How?

[kitty007008]

Last week a friend of mine was pulled over for speeding, the cop pulled her over, and while talking made a remark about her being trans, she is one of the most passable people ever, no one would know, it had to do with her file, she has everything changed over (name, lisense, social sacurity, etc)

My question is:
Is there anything left over after all that, can people find out you're trans no matter what?

[katrinaw]

Hey Kitty, The protection forces, medical and gov. agencies would have access to all histories... it's unfortunate, but true.

Sorry 

Hope your friend has not been affected to much by it...


L Katy

[kittenpower]

I'm guessing that when the officer checked for wants and warrants that all aliases and AKA information was reported.

[Mariah]

Yes, anytime they are doing a background check it's taking into account info from state and federal databases which included aliases to help track people more closely. Hugs
Mariah

[Autumnleaf]

Yup what Kittenpower said.  Being in law enforcement most of my life, when you run a warrant check, all aliases pop up so her former name/names, social security, etc would show along with criminal history and everything else. 

[stephaniec]

police have access to your records that go back to when your next store neighbor was an Neanderthal . about 5 years ago I was taking a class at Northwestern University and the computer lab was open all night so I use to go the lab after midnight, well one night a school cop stopped me and ask me what I was doing and he checked his computer and found that I'm flagged by the FBI, which I had no idea they were watching me. some 40 years earlier I was a Vietnam protester and was jailed by the FBI . I didn't know that they had me tag so when ever I get stopped by the police the FBI is alerted. I haven't driven a car for 40 years so I never been stopped by the police. so yea if you were eating Mammoth steaks for diner the police have your number.

[suzifrommd]

Is there anything left over after all that, can people find out you're trans no matter what?

Short answer, yes.

However, unless it was germane to the situation, the police officer had no business commenting on your friend's history. If it was inappropriate, it should be reported.

[Cindy]

I know this varies from place to place. I was stopped when driving and he ran my licence. After being told off, and being suitably contrite, he let me off with a warning and then said. Miss I'm not sure if you know but your licence says you are male. I told him that I had changed it. He replied that it sounds as if you are being discriminated against. Change it again and if there is a problem report to the police, we will deal with the DMV as it is illegal to discriminate against you and we take that very seriously.

I went to the DMV the next day and told them what had happened. The woman I dealt with was furious and very apologetic.

[katrinaw]

I know this varies from place to place. I was stopped when driving and he ran my licence. After being told off, and being suitably contrite, he let me off with a warning and then said. Miss I'm not sure if you know but your licence says you are male. I told him that I had changed it. He replied that it sounds as if you are being discriminated against. Change it again and if there is a problem report to the police, we will deal with the DMV as it is illegal to discriminate against you and we take that very seriously.

I went to the DMV the next day and told them what had happened. The woman I dealt with was furious and very apologetic.

Probably inappropriate Cindy, but did you ask him for his phone # 

L Katy

[Cindy]

There is another post I made a while back. He stopped me again and we had a dinner date. Never heard from him again. But he was nice but not my type.

[Sammy]

I have another question - why he thought that is was necessary/important to casually mention her transgender status???Should not it be none of his business?

[nichellezelda]

Emily: to me it just sounds like a blatant abuse of power.

[Mariah]

Hi nichellezelda, welcome to susans. I look forward to seeing you around the site. Good luck and hugs
Mariah

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[ReDucks]

it takes at least 2 weeks to get a background check deep enough to buy a gun or get hired, I highly doubt that information comes over during a routine traffic stop, unless maybe the gender change on the dl was made very recently or there were issues associated with the same driver's license number that brought up both names.

No need to get too worried about being pulled over, I've had several stops for speed over the years and it's never come up

[iKate]

He acted unprofessional. I never would have done that. You can and should complain.

And yes, old names do show up. They really have no choice, because some people change their name to try to avoid old warrants, child support etc. Plus arrest warrants may have been issued in other jurisdictions who don't know your name under your old name. I have encountered people who changed their name and it shows up. Nowadays everything is stored in NCIC managed by the FBI.

[iKate]

it takes at least 2 weeks to get a background check deep enough to buy a gun or get hired,

Background checks for firearm sales are instant, as they are done through a different system called NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System). NICS is used only for firearm transfers and results are instant or in some cases within a couple of hours. Sometimes if there are problems with your file or the system it may take days or weeks but that is rare. Some states have a waiting period but that is different. That is in case someone gets angry at their spouse or whatever and figures they'll go buy a gun and deal with it. At least in theory.

And today cops have access to databases like NCIC which is more or less instant. They can run your license and get back results fairly quickly. In fact, in some places they are going around with license plate reading camera pulling up things like deadbeat parents (child support), outstanding warrants and the like. It's very useful for law enforcement but very scary for privacy.

[marsh monster]

He behaved like a lot of cis people would and he wanted her to know that he knew, kind of like "you ain't fooling me..."   


I would send a letter or email to someone at the department if I were her, let them know that it wasn't appreciated, it was improper, etc. and maybe they will do something about it.

The only time I have been pulled by a cop and given a ticket since transitioning, they did not mention the M on my license and avoided gendering me at all, but was very polite and even made sure I got back out into traffic safely since it was on an interstate. I can't change my marker until I get surgery in NC.

[iKate]

I would complain to the police chief and the mayor of that town. If it is the state police I would complain to the attorney general and the Governor. If it is a sheriff dept, complain to the sheriff and county officials, and maybe the governor. You are supposed to be treated with respect and telling you about your trans status is not respect. In NJ we have a complaint (or commendation) form you can use.

[JoanneB]

An official name change, as in through the courts, is part of the public record. In fact, it needs to be published in "A paper of record". When a cop runs your license, Every name associated with it is there, as well as all name changes, also known as "Also Known As", a great line from many a cop show/movie.

Ergo, in this post 9/11 world, there is absolutely no thing as stealth

[StrykerXIII]

It's all in the government...my fiancee's stepdad had to go through an FBI interrogation to get clearance for his last job, and they managed to bring me up, asking him things like, "Your stepdaughter is engaged...[his] name is -------, and he's transgender, has a facebook profile under the alias Julia, correct?"...I was furious. Livid.