Equine Clothing That Closely Resembled Police Uniform

[Hants_Horsewatch]

A clarification statement has been issued to the equine press in respect of high visibility clothing that closely resembles Police Uniform from
Rod Hansen, Assistant Chief Constable
ACPO Lead for Mounted Policing

Over recent months a number of examples of high visibility equine apparel have been brought to my attention. These articles have caused concern to the police on the grounds that individuals wearing them are likely to be mistaken for being a police officer due to the design closely resembling police uniform. I have therefore sought advice on the legality of these designs, which has identified the following as the three main characteristics of police high visibility uniform:

Wording – police high visibility clothing typically has POLICE printed as a contrasting block of letters prominently displayed to the rear and/or front.

Colour - police high visibility uniform is universally yellow.

Chequered Banding – police high visibility clothing commonly uses blue/silver chequered banding, this colour being standardised by international convention.

The conclusion of these enquiries is that any item of clothing that has been manufactured to match these characteristics of police uniform is at risk of contravening legislation, namely Section 90 Police Act 1996. The ultimate decision about the legitimacy of any individual product is yet to be defined conclusively by any court, but the legal standard as enacted is an objective measure of whether the clothing worn by an individual, and/or their horse, would give the impression that that rider is a police officer when they are not. As such, any wording displayed on clothing which is similar in appearance to ‘POLICE’ (i.e. in a shape, format or font used on police uniform), even if is spelt differently, would leave the wearer at risk of breaching the law, particularly if the other characteristics are present.

It is apparent that this issue has been subject to considerable debate through equine forums and I wish therefore to clarify the position from the police’s perspective for your readers so that they appreciate the risks associated with wearing such products and/or designs. I would also like to take this opportunity to confirm that whilst the police would support any work to make the roads safer, we do not endorse or recommend any specific high visibility products or manufacturer, nor have we done so.

 

[Kat]

Has there been any confirmation that reports of officers visiting retailers and advising them that the products contravene the law are genuine/false?

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

OK........ so expect a load of "Polite" "never-worn" or "nearly new" stuff to rapidly appear on E-bay then!

 

[Luci07]

I re read that a couple of times. It looks as if you have some writing on that looks as if it could read police, coupled with the other characteristics (colour) could mean you are possibly in breach. However, as my hi viz yellow jacket has neither the writing nor the bands I will continue to use it. It has a massive impact on making drivers slow down so I am keeping it!

 

[catkin]

Please clarify that the wearing of yellow-coloured hi-viz clothing on horse and rider, without the wording is still OK. Yellow is a very common colour for PPE issue in other professions and is also the colour most available in affordable hi-viz for the general public.
Even if we have other colour hi-viz clothing, such as I do, there are some weather conditions where yellow is considered the most easily visible, and therefore the most suitable for safety.

 

[Elsiecat]

I've said it before and will say it again.
I am just as much breaking the 'law' (there isn't any case law in place against POLITE clothing) as anyone going to a fancy dress party as a copper. Often these fancy dress outfits have the actual word 'POLICE' written on them.

As long as me and the ned don't turn up at a football game and try and copy the actual police then I'm not impersonating either.

It's fancy dress on horse back and I won't be getting arrested for it. It wouldn't hold up in court. The CPS wouldn't bother. The Police can't just decide an item of clothing is illegal (or they'd have banned hoodies, balaclavas, burkas where only the eyes are visable etc) these things have to go through parliament and a new law be made.

Going for a hack later with me stuff on

 

[EstherYoung]

I saw my mate with the tack shop last night. Basically what happened is this:
- Copper stops one of her customers wearing a 'polite' tabard, tells customer that there is new police guidance which says that a person wearing such a tabard could be deemed to be breaking the law and she was told to go home and swap it for another tabard. Copper also asked customer where she bought it.
- On finding out that she bought the tabard from my mate, copper then goes round to my mate's tack shop and explains to her that she shouldn't be selling them. He also gives her a copy of the ACPO police guidance (which my friend bought with her last night for me to see). It was all very amicable and the copper was acting in an 'advisory' capacity rather than reading the riot act, but my friend now has a load of tabards that she doesn't know what to do with.

 

[Piglet]

Just wear pink hi-viz - no misunderstanding then - simples!!!!

 

[PrincessMadeleine]

Yellow Hi-viz is fine, just not with police wording / blue and silver on as well! Very annoying as I was just about to try and get some as a friend of mine who wears it says it has made an amazing difference with drivers!

 

[Wheelchair]

I run a livery yard. I purchased one of these tabards for the lady who works for me as I had received feedback from other liveries as to how successful these items were.

I would make an educated guess that the majority of complaints received were probably attributable to anti-horse motorists who probably had the shock of their lives when speeding past a horse and its owner wearing one of these tabards and it probably caught them out big time.

I say to EVERYONE who has one or considers buying one, DO IT AND DONT STOP WEARING IT!!!!! If it slows motorists down then it's job well done.

Do the police entertain Section 90 of the Police Act 1996 when it comes to recovery, security and burglar alarm companies whose cars/vans are bedecked in similarly designed chequers and colours? No I hear you answer.

Respect for horse riders on the roads nowadays is at an all time low so if anything makes horse people's lives easier then have the balls to use it.

But also could horse rider's please take this on board, an awful lot of you seem to have forgotten your manners, please remember to clearly thank motorists for slowly down, how can you expect sympathy from your fellow road users if you forget your manners!

Just remember if we all stick together and persevere with these tabards it does send a message - that we are not to be walked all over!

 

[Tiffany]

For anyone who thinks Polite reads Police there's always spec savers

 

[Pale Rider]

Here's a clue, different words.

Another load of nonsense from senior Police.

 

[Elsiecat]

Here's a clue, different words.

Another load of nonsense from senior Police.

*Splutters out drink*
Erm, I think I've just agreed with you on something

 

[Goldenstar]

*Splutters out drink*
Erm, I think I've just agreed with you on something

Go and lie in a darkened room.

 

[Elsiecat]

Go and lie in a darkened room.

I can't. I've lost use of my limbs. The shock is paralysing!!!

 

[Pale Rider]

*Splutters out drink*
Erm, I think I've just agreed with you on something

lol.

 

[braindead]

Some pratt in the Daily Fail is complaining about Hi-Viz being seen everywhere, even the police horses in central London are wearing it. Quote "If that wasn’t bad enough, their horses were wearing hi-viz jackets, too. You couldn’t make it up. Who can’t spot a ruddy great horse in broad daylight in Central London?"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2275260/Since-compulsory-wear-hi-viz.html#ixzz2KI4tGSdT
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Shame that serious numbers of drivers fail to see horses and riders on the road and that the horse related traffic incidents are increasing. I wonder how many more there would be if riders didn't wear Hi-viz?

 

[Onyxia]

I've said it before and will say it again.
I am just as much breaking the 'law' (there isn't any case law in place against POLITE clothing) as anyone going to a fancy dress party as a copper. Often these fancy dress outfits have the actual word 'POLICE' written on them.

As long as me and the ned don't turn up at a football game and try and copy the actual police then I'm not impersonating either.

It's fancy dress on horse back and I won't be getting arrested for it. It wouldn't hold up in court. The CPS wouldn't bother. The Police can't just decide an item of clothing is illegal (or they'd have banned hoodies, balaclavas, burkas where only the eyes are visable etc) these things have to go through parliament and a new law be made.

Going for a hack later with me stuff on

I agree.
And not wishing to pick on them, but surely the RSPCA uniform which has unquestionably been designed to give a police like authority to it's staff is more in breech of the legislation then a hi viz jacket.
I have seen riders wearing the Polite vests while driving and if you are following the Hiway code's guidance of passing wide and slow it is a doodle to spot the difference. anyway, so the only people who might be fooled are those driving without due care and attention in the first place.

 

[Robsonian]

Rod Hanson is Assistant Chief Constable (ACC), ACPO Lead for Mounted Policing, from Avon and Somerset Police and his is the only letter that I have been able to trace through the internet. The letter was issued on "Association of Chief Police Officers" letterheaded paper but quoting the Avon and Somerset Police Headquarters address, so is this a national issue or just one that has been taken up by Avon and Somerset Police?

My main problems with the contents of his letter, though, are:
1) "Colour". The ACPO letter says "police high visibility uniform is universally yellow". Well, with respect, that's because it is "Personal Protective Equipment" (PPE) so MUST be fluorescent, and yellow is the by far and away the most common fluorescent colour in use (check out construction sites, dockyards, quarries - in fact anywhere were individuals are at higher than normal risk of injury. They will all be wearing fluorescent yellow PPE jackets or tabards - I can't honestly see builders wearing pink!). This is because fluorescent yellow "glows" in low light conditions, including the shadow under trees and buildings, thus making the wearer more visible;
2) "Checkered Banding" - "police high visibility clothing commonly uses blue-silver checkered banding, this being standardised by international convention". The word used is "commonly", not "exclusively", and the reason why silver is used is because it is reflective so is hardly unique to the police (again check out PPE clothing worn on hazardous work sites - they will all have strips of silver reflective material on the jackets/tabards). The silver reflective strips are used because they "shine out" when a light is shone on them - i.e. headlights at dusk;
3) I have checked my local police's mounted police website (West Yorkshire Police) and there are photographs showing mounted police a) on general duty, b) in dress uniform, and c) on duty outside football stadia. No sign of ANY chequered pattern on the "on duty" yellow jackets/tabards or the football stadia photos and, in fact, when on duty in potentially hazardous situations (i.e. outside football stadia, riots, etc.), mounted police in West Yorkshire don't appear to wear yellow PPE on all occasions in any case (black riot gear and riot helmets with visors appears more usual - probably because fluorescent PPE would have an officer standing out as a target for the throwing of rocks and petrol bombs). The only chequered pattern I could find was on the helmets of the mounted police in dress uniform.

As such, it would appear that the only thing this Assistant Chief Constable could be expressing concern about is the use of the word "Polite". However, the Equisafety tabard says "Polite" in large letters, then underneath "notice" in small letters, then "Please Slow Down" in the same large font as the "Polite". Police PPE simply says "Police" with the appropriate region noted above in smaller letters (i.e. City of London, or West Yorkshire for example) - there is no other lettering to be seen.

The Equisafety tabard was submitted (as all equipment/clothing to be used as PPE must be) to the British Standards Authority and was approved for use: thus it carries the "CE" kitemark and confirmation that the tabard complies with BS En1150. Wouldn't the BSA have queried the possibility of it being mistaken for a police uniform if they thought that was a serious risk? In any case, the tabard or jacket worn by the police is just one part of a mounted police officer's uniform (the police also wear long boots and spurs - most leisure riders/hackers in my experience don't - and helmets that look more like motorcycle helmets than riding hats). It is probably because the police have had a complaint from a member of the public who doesn't really understand what constitutes "Impersonating a Police Officer" and resented being "obliged" to slow down. Has this ACC responded on a local, then, rather than national level?

Compare the comments in this officer's letter with that issued a couple of years ago by the Chief Constable of the Metropolitan police where he said that the police wouldn't stop a member of the public from wearing the "Polite" tabard as long as there is no indication that the person has attempted to impersonate a police officer. Also check out the press releases and leaflets issued by the police and the Home Office that state that the police take seriously the protection of vulnerable road users such as cyclists, motor cyclists, horse riders and carriage drivers. Surely anything that makes a driver take a second look and, more importantly, slow down is worth supporting.

Other contributors to this forum have also asked if the police intend in future to press charges against "strippers dressed as police officers" for impersonating a police officer (after all, that uniform usually says "Police", not "Polite") and perhaps a police officer could comment on what the difference is between one item of clothing being used to help protect vulnerable road users and the other, far more complete and "authentic", "uniform" being used to make some money and provide a particular form of entertainment? I'd be interested to know.

 

[Stumblebum]

To be fair, I understand that most of the complaints have come from police officers rather than motorists.

The main issue (and what has to be proven by law) is that the person concerned has intent to deceive other persons into believing they are a police officer - this is why people going to fancy dress parties etc don't usually end up getting themselves arrested (unless they are drunk and disorderly or trying to stop the traffic!).

I can't see a Problem with the yellow high viz -even with the chequered band with say, a "please Pass slide and slow " logo, I think the problem is with the wording POLITE. Why polite?? - it's just one word away from POLICE.

My own personal view is that anything that assists in slowing traffic and ensuring the safety of horse and rider is a good thing.

I guess as a police officer I can wear the stuff and get away with it!!

 

[tinafletcher1]

we have been wearing these tabards plus the hat cover for a year. We are straight onto a busy main road. We have noticed a huge difference to the speed at which motorist pass. The safety of horse and rider on the road should be paramount. I shall continue to use.

 

[Downsrider]

As far as I am concerned I will continue to wear the Hi Viz Polite jacket, there is no law that says I cant wear this and to be honest we are doing a good service for the police as they cannot be everywhere to sort the motorist out when they decide to speed past our horses and endanger us. This range of horse wear is brilliant it has slowed a lot of drivers down who otherwise could have caused an accident therefore makeing the road safer for both horse and rider...What is wrong with the Police we are helping them for goodness sake Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen get real on this issue or perhaps he would like to ride a horse around some of the roads in the UK and see for himself just what dangers we go through with some of the car drivers who hate Horses on the roads.
He says that he has had a lot of complaints from the Public about this, well I can say where I live the drivers have commened us for wearing the tabbards and they all think it is very good I have never once had a complaint...so where are these moaning people Mr Hansen .????

 

[princestar]

Total rubbish.

Will we be expected to replace all our hi-viz gear so we dont upset a policeman plod somewhere?

Dont think the Met Police will be buying our POLITE clothing from us, do you?

 

[MochaDun]

I'm confused as police wear itself with badges taken off is sold legitimately secondhand ex-issue and I've know people buy their good Gore-tex stuff etc to wear not just for riding but for it being good hi-viz stuff for all sorts of outdoor work - OK it doesn't have police wording on it but it still looks very police-like...see below:

http://www.onestopcopshop.co.uk/product.php?productid=145&cat=11&page=1

Is the problem really because it says Polite and people think it looks like Police??!! The police by taking this stance are putting a small business out of business...

 

[Dobermann Girl]

Since wearing our Polite tabards, Jackets ect, like all replys, motorist have been much more respectful ie quickly hiding their mobiles whilst driving. This happens a lot.. When we have to cross a road junction fast drivers slow down. It is a pity that wearing any type of other tabard does not have the same effect. I was wearing plain Hi viz last week and a young man kept blowing his horn so I asked him to please stop doing it and got threatened, he was going to "smash my head in". Hard job methinks I'm on a horse with a helmet on and a whip. Also I said the same back to him. Would he have been so aggressive if I had my polite tabard on. I am not going to stop wearing it just because some irate drivers feel they have been fooled. Also must agree with another poster to be polite to motorist that take care passing,we more often than not wave to most drivers.
Being a woman I am sad to say the worst are women drivers.

 

[kikadi]

Hey guys I think this is ridiculous!! Older have managed to increase our own safety through drawing drivers attention. Please sign this e-petition to prevent police being able to prosecute us for wearing these! I need 100,000 signatures so het family and friends signing too http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/45785

 

[Highlands]

Not a problem , a police person round here is a special event..... They get lost...

 

[MaisieMooch]

For me the main issue with these 'polite' vests is that they do work considerably better than any other vest I have tried. Anything that reduces the speed of a driver is not only beneficial to us and our horses but also to the drivers and potentially their cars.

I am not impersonating a police officer in any way, shape or form. I am merely trying to maximize my safety, my horse’s safety and in a roundabout way the safety of the driver concerned.

I do agree with 'Wheelchair' who mentions that there are a few riders out there who seem to have forgotten how to lift up a hand, nod their heads or even just smile (obviously if they are coming towards you) at a driver who slows down. They do us a massive injustice; the majority of riders are very conscientious. This ignorance gives any driver with a gripe an even bigger reason to continue to drive like an idiot.

I would also question what is taught to new drivers regarding livestock (in our case horses) on the road. I genuinely do not think that a lot of new drivers are aware of the consequences of driving at speed past not just a horse but also dog walkers, runners or cyclists.

I was recently out with a friend where we had to go through a fairly long bit of flooded road. After waiting patiently for some cars to go through the flood we started through ourselves. All was fine until halfway through a car over took a waiting car and continued to come along the flooded road towards us. We met knee deep in water! It was not going fast but the speed was causing a substantial wash and was enough to agitate the horses. I motioned for him to slow down and he waved at me with a smile on his face, I truly believe he thought I was waving!!!

This is what we are up against.

I do think that a lot of drivers out there genuinely believe that they are slowing down and have no idea what is a safe speed to go past a horse and rider. The wide berth at speed approach that some drivers take is doubly scary at the moment as they tend to end up going through puddles which can alarm even the calmest horse. 60mph to 40mph is not much better! I genuinely believe that the majority of drivers are ignorant to the reality of what could happen if there were to be an accident at the speed that they are travelling. However, this is not an excuse

I digress, my main point is that we are entitled to ride on the road and we should not be penalized for using a product that is only trying to reduce accidents and improve driver’s awareness. The 'Polite' tabard’s do work and unfortunately it is the 'word' resemblance that seems to make a difference.
What needs to be addressed is the fact that riders from all parts of the UK do have an ongoing issue with drivers. Riders do not feel safe on the road, so why would you be against something that genuinely seems to work.

This is the first time I have ever posted on a forum or anything like this, but I truly believe that the majority of riders are trying the best they can to be as safe as they can be. I find the ignorance of some drivers beyond understanding.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I am thrilled that this issue is so important among riders, that it's resulted in so many new forum members. Welcome!

 

[Vintage]

I agree with others that there are many things out there with the blue/white check banding, not just these tabards.

I do have one, and because of all of this fuss, I'm debating changing the "POLITE" to having some sort of badge on with "PLEASE" if it would possibly lessen the likelihood of having someone mention it.

Saying that, the POLITE and in tiny, 'notice' is quite a deliberate attempt at looking like Policewear, though I find it very nit picky.