THE police and crime commissioner has urged for a change in the law following criticism of the media, police force and courts in referring to a convicted murderer as a woman.

Matthew Barber has spoken out against the coverage of Scarlet Blake, who was sentenced on Monday (February 26) at Oxford Crown Court to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years for the murder of Jorge Martin Carreno.

The 26-year-old, who identifies as a transwoman, lured the 30-year-old Spanish BMW Plant worker to Parsons Pleasure before hitting him on the head with a vodka bottle, strangling him and pushing him into the river on July 25, 2021.

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Oxford Mail: Scarlet BlakeScarlet Blake (Image: TVP)

Three months before, she also mutilated a cat and put it in a blender.

The media, Thames Valley Police and the court system have received backlash for referring to Blake as a woman – including from author JK Rowling who wrote that crime statistics are ‘rendered useless’ if ‘crimes committed by men are recorded as female crimes’.

Now, Mr Barber has called for a change of law following the coverage of the trial. Earlier this month, he criticised the police for referring to a defendant as a ‘woman’, stating the force has ‘relied on self-described gender’.

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He said: “Earlier this month I spoke about the need for clarity and accuracy following a case of sexual assault in Oxfordshire.

“The debate about the recording of sex and gender has remained in the spotlight following the conviction and sentencing of the vile murderer Scarlet Blake. 

“Yesterday I wrote to the Home Secretary urging a review of the Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) which set out the legal framework for the way the police must deal with detainees. 

“I must stress again that in both of these cases Thames Valley Police have been exemplary in safeguarding a vulnerable victim and bring a dangerous killer to justice.

Oxford Mail: Matthew BarberMatthew Barber (Image: TVP)

“Whilst I have raised concerns about the press statements issued the operational response has been everything that we would want from the police. 

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“Nevertheless these cases highlight issues of public confidence and safeguarding that I believe can only be addressed through a change in the law.

“We must all expect the police to follow the law, and as currently set out, they are obliged to record self-identified gender in the custody record and there is no legislative framework for them to record someone’s sex at birth. In my view this should change. 

“Let us not forget that at the heart of both of these cases are real victims. Important though the subject is, we should all remember that lives have been seriously impacted and ended.”