[red rocket]

In case you missed it, the Metropolitan Police has recruited students from the London College of Fashion to help design a new uniform.



As you can see, they have wisely chosen to not get rid of the helmet and that silly hat the women(?) police officers wear (women can't wear helmets, it's bad for their hair). Additionally, they're attempting to further differentiate between the male and female(?) officers by colour‑coding the uniforms (red stripe for men, green stripe for women, pink stripe for transgendered, etc.).

Personally, I think the design is pretty unimaginative, and a more radical re‑design is called for.

Here's one I made earlier:



Note that I haven't changed the helmet, either. In his right hand, the police officer is holding a truncheon made of glossy purple plastic for beating up offenders, whereas the left hand is proudly brandishing a lollipop for rewarding law-abiding citizens. On his belt are a variety of utility compartments for storing a paraphernalia of objects, from mobiles to iPods, from chewing gum to condoms. The pink trousers are made from extra comfortable 21st century materials, no animals or plants have been hurt in their manufacture. The jumper is made from the same material, whereas the ultra‑soft thorax shell has been made from military‑grade lightweight foam decorated in a pleasant light‑pink‑and‑white floral pattern. It also sorts a flashy ‘COP’ label on the front and the back, innovatively not using a font, but a combination of geometric shapes, to create the letters. The ‘O’ letter has been hand‑crafted to resemble crosshairs, in an effort to further enhance visible presence and make the officer easier to locate in the event that law‑abiding citizens wish to report a crime.

[design219]

Nice, but how about this?

[JonoMarshall]

How about this? (I especially like the socks)

[Aron Peterson]

Originally Posted by design219 

Nice, but how about this?

[analogue SPRINKLES]

[JonoMarshall]

^ we have a winner, seriously. Would you even think about messing with that officer?

[xi_hyperon]

Did anyone ask Nicholas Angel what he thinks of the new style?

[nonhuman]

I don't get why they're putting a gender indicator on the uniforms. Who cares?

Are there a whole lot of androgynous bobbies out there?

[red rocket]

Originally Posted by nonhuman

I don't get why they're putting a gender indicator on the uniforms. Who cares?

Are there a whole lot of androgynous bobbies out there?

I don't get it, either. They already have the girl‑hat and the girl‑tie, what do they need a green stripe for? Then again, I just noticed the female(?) officer in the back appears to have a red stripe, so maybe there's something else going on. I'm really unsure about that one's gender. On the one hand, it's got the girl‑hat, on the other, it's also got the boy‑stripe. Maybe it's not red, but the pink transgendered stripe I was speculating about…


And, in a way, yes. In line with the general trend towards obesity, there does appear to be an increasing percentage of both fat and ugly policewomen and policemen amongst the 'force, which makes them almost indistinguishable from one another, if it weren't for the hat. The old days, when you had one petite woman police officer in high heels and skirt accompanied by two or more male officers to protect her, are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Just a few months ago, they showed some CCTV footage on television of a really massive policewoman overpowering some delinquent in the street. It was shocking, man, I tell you. ‘That's a woman???’ I thought, ‘Can't be true!’

[Aron Peterson]

Originally Posted by red rocket 

there does appear to be an increasing percentage of both fat and ugly policewomen and policemen amongst the 'force

Nicholas Angel: It's not Force any longer, it's called the Service.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by red rocket 

Additionally, they're attempting to further differentiate between the male and female(?) officers by colour‑coding the uniforms (red stripe for men, green stripe for women, pink stripe for transgendered, etc.).

Rank, perhaps?

[ghporter]

The RED stripe is for command, the GREEN stripe is for support, and there's bound to be a BLUE stripe around for "sciences."

Seriously, the BBC article should have done more than talk about pockets and dog hair-and the picture was WAY too small to show off something that's probably going to be a major part of British life, as major as the fact that they kept the bobby hat.

[analogika]

Hamburg police got new uniforms a few years ago and were the German state to deviate from the standard green uniforms.

old:


new:


The first time two of these showed up at a birthday party I was attending - one male and one female cop - I thought "Hey! Cool! Somebody organised strippers!"

Apparently, Germany is now returning to the European-standard blue. Question is: Why did they switch to green/beige in the first place some thirty years ago?

Edit: Apparently, there was a big police reform in 1976, and they wanted the uniforms to reflect that.

[Gator Lager]

I'd let her bust me any time