Uniforms and equipment of the British police
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[edit] Uniform
Although there are minor variations in the styling, pattern and insignia, the police forces of Great Britain, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar all wear very similar uniforms. In general, these have taken their lead from the Metropolitan Police, with changes appearing in that force first. The base colour is a very dark blue, almost indistinguishable from black (and these days often actually is black), which earnt the police the nickname of the "boys in blue".
Formal uniform comprises an open-necked tunic (with or without an attached belt, depending on the force) and trousers or skirt, worn with a white or light blue shirt and black tie (usually clip-on, so it cannot be used to strangle the wearer). Although most forces once wore blue shirts, these have been less used since the 1980s (when the Metropolitan Police changed to white) and most now wear white. Officers of the rank of inspector and above have always worn white shirts, and in many forces so have female officers. In some forces, female officers wear a black and white checked cravat instead of a tie. Officers of the rank of Sergeant and above wear rank badges on their epaulettes, while Constables and Sergeants also wear "collar numbers" on them.
Until the 1990s this was also the everyday working uniform, but today it is rarely seen except on formal occasions. The normal working dress retains the shirt (open-necked or with a tie or cravat) and trousers, worn with or without a jersey or fleece. Some forces use combat trousers and boots. Today, female officers almost never wear a skirt in working dress, and frequently wear trousers in formal dress as well. Officers also frequently wear reflective waterproof jackets, which have replaced the old greatcoats and cloaks traditionally worn in inclement weather. Most officers now wear body armour when on duty.
Basic headgear is a peaked cap for men, and a round bowler style hat for women. All officers wear a black and white (red and white for the City of London Police) diced band around the hat, a distinction first used in Scotland and later adopted by all forces in Great Britain. Traffic officers wear white cap covers (yellow in Derbyshire). On foot duty, male constables and sergeants outside Scotland wear the familiar conical custodian helmet. There are several patterns, with different forces wearing different types. Although some Scottish forces have used helmets in the past,they are no longer worn in Scotland.
Officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) wear a uniform which is somewhat different, due to the political situation. The main colour to be found is a dark and light green with the uniform looking very unlike mainland police uniforms.
[edit] Uniform history
The first uniform, which was a lighter blue than at present, was a high-collared tailcoat, worn with white trousers in summer. The headgear was a hardened top hat, which served the dual purpose of protecting the officer from blows to the head and allowing him to use it as a step to climb or see over walls. The sleeves of the dark blue coats originally had a pattern of white bars, roughly 6 mm wide by 50 mm high, set roughly 6 mm apart. This immediately distinguished them from naval or maritime personnel. Although this feature was taken up in the Dominions, it was not used in the USA.
The tailcoat was later replaced by a tunic, still high-collared, and the top hat by the custodian helmet (both adopted by the Metropolitan Police in 1863). With a few exceptions (including the City of London Police and the Hampshire Constabulary), the helmet plate was (and still is) based on the Brunswick star. The helmet itself was of cork faced with fabric. The design varied slightly between forces. Some had that favoured by the Metropolitan Police, topped with a boss, others had a helmet that incorporated a ridge or crest terminating above the badge, while others had a short spike, sometimes topped with a ball.
The tunic went through many lengths and styles, with the Metropolitan Police adopting the open-neck style in 1948 (although senior and female officers adopted it before that time). Senior officers used to wear peaked pillbox-style caps until the adoption of the wider peaked cap worn today.
Female officers' uniforms have gone through a great variety of styles, as they have tended to reflect the women's fashions of the time. Tunic style, skirt length and headgear have varied by period and force. By the late 1980s, female working uniform was virtually identical to male, except for headgear and sometimes neckwear.
[edit] Personal radios
In 2004, British police forces began the rollout of a digital TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) system for communications, called Airwave. The Airwave system replaced the previous Motorola radio handsets and two-way radios with a mobile phone-like device, which is supposed to improve radio coverage, is encrypted to prevent interception, and allows data as well as voice transmission. The rollout is due for complete coverage of all UK police forces and other emergency services by the end of 2007.
Personal radio systems were first issued to police officers and installed in police cars in the 1960s (resulting in the demise of the "police box" telephones made famous by Doctor Who). From the 1990s, officers frequently carried mobile phones in addition to their personal radio units.
[edit] Firearms and weapons
In the United Kingdom and some other countries of the British police tradition, the police are not normally issued firearms, but are issued other weapons (batons, pepper spray, CS spray etc.), although some officers may be issued firearms in special situations. This originates from the formation of the Metropolitan Police in the 19th Century, when police were not armed, partly to counter public fears and objections concerning armed enforcers. However, the Ministry of Defence Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and Police Service of Northern Ireland (formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary) are issued firearms as a matter of routine. Every force can also call upon armed response units in a matter of minutes, and certain specialist squads, such as the Flying Squad, Special Branch, Diplomatic Protection Group, Royalty Protection Branch, and officers protecting airports and government buildings, are routinely armed.
The weapons carried routinely by ordinary police constables are currently an extending baton and, in all but two county police services, personal issue incapacitating CS spray. CS effects are designed to be short-lived, subsiding within 30-60 minutes and clearing more quickly in well-ventilated areas.
The use of batons varies across the country and each force selects which baton is best able to fulfil its needs and provide the best protection to officers. Friction lock batons such as the ASP are popular, although the PR-24 Monadnock extendable baton (sometimes known as the side-handled baton) or the Monadnock Straight Lock baton is used in some forces. Some forces use a one piece "Arnold" baton, although they are relatively rare except in forces in the North of England.
[edit] Use of firearms
Unlike the police in most other countries, most officers in the British police are not routinely armed, except in Northern Ireland, at airports, nuclear facilities, and on some protection duties. However every territorial police force has an armed contingent of officers patrolling able to support unarmed colleagues when required. The arming of the police is a perennial topic of debate.
Officers on night patrols in some London divisions were frequently armed with Webley revolvers (and, after the Battle of Stepney, Webley semi-automatics) for over 50 years following the murder of two officers in 1884, though individual officers were able to choose whether to carry the weapons. The practice ended in July 1936, after which arms could be issued by a sergeant if there was a good reason, and if the officer had been trained.
The issue of routine arming was next raised after the 1952 Derek Bentley case, and again after the 1966 murder of three officers in London (Massacre of Braybrook Street), following which around 17% of officers in London were authorised to carry firearms. After the deaths of a number of members of the public in the 1980s, control was considerably tightened, many officers had their firearm authorisation revoked, and training for the remainder was greatly improved and later extended to include some training from the SAS.[citation needed] Currently around seven per cent of officers in London are trained in the use of firearms. Firearms are also only issued to an officer under strict guidelines [1] See CO19 (Metropolitan Police Firearms Unit).
In order to allow armed officers to rapidly attend an incident most forces have patrolling Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs). ARVs were modelled on the Instant Response Cars introduced by the West Yorkshire Police in 1976, and were first introduced in London in 1991, when 132 armed deployments were made. Today CO19 and the Diplomatic Protection Group provide London with ARV's with officers having weapons permanently holstered on their person to allow rapid deployment.
The significant increase in gun crime since the late 1990s has kept this issue in the spotlight. For the first time since 1936, the routine carrying of firearms on normal police patrols was re-introduced in Nottingham in February 2000, in response to a number of gang related shootings on the St Ann's and Meadows estates. Despite this, Police Federation surveys have continued to show overwhelming police officer resistance to routine arming. In the Federation's most recent (2006) Officer/Arming survey, 82% of respondents were against the routine arming of police.[2]
As of September 2004, all forces in England and Wales also have the Taser available, but it may only be used by Firearms Officers although there have been growing calls quietly from within the ranks and the public for all officers to be routinely armed with a Taser. The Police Federation have already called for this and is a firm position held by it. [3]
For more on firearm use by British police, see the controversial shootings section of the main Policing in the United Kingdom article.
[edit] Police vehicles
The archetypal British "bobby" walked his beat alone. Apart from rapid response units, motor vehicles were rarely used except in rural districts (and even there, bicycles were more common). However, following the 1964 Police Act, the police became increasingly motorised and it is now rare to see an officer on foot patrol except in city or town centres, and then rarely alone. More recently, police forces have begun to put officers back on the beat as 'community' or 'neighbourhood' patrols. In an increasing number of urban centres police bicycle units are used to provide a quick response in congested areas, pedestrianised areas and parkland, as well as carrying out patrols. A bicycle patrol provides a happy balance between the distance covered by a motorised patrol and the approachability of the foot patrol. [4] The Metropolitan Police now have over 1500 police bicycles.[5]
Patrol cars, sometimes known as panda cars, are in use everywhere and may be crewed by one or two officers. In Scotland, because of the necessity of corroborating evidence, there are always two officers in a vehicle. Rapid response vehicles are utilised for various departments in each police force. Some examples are: armed response vehicles and some traffic department vehicles, which come in marked and un-marked variations. Typical examples of high-powered rapid response vehicles are BMW 5 series, Volvo T5s and V70s, enhanced Vauxhall Vectras and various Subaru and Audi high-end models. Police also use Land Rover and Range Rover models - such as for responding to motorway incidents - Jaguar cars are even used by some forces. Most forces use Ford Transit vans or similar models as personnel carriers, with specially adapted versions in use by public order units such as the Metropolitan Police Territorial Support Group. Police motorcycles, bicycles and horses are also employed depending on the situation.
All Home Office police forces have access to air support, often in the form of helicopters. Some forces, such as Hampshire, also have small fixed wing aircraft.
Forces with significant waterways to police maintain police watercraft, ranging from Zodiac dinghies to ARUN class boats.[6][7]
