Official statement from POLITE

The impression I got when reading that is that the woman is very up herself.
I'm also more likely to listen to a police statement than that one.
 
If I were a company releasing an 'official statement' I wanted to reassure people with I would pay more attention to my grammar and typos. That is all.
 
Yes its true, I received an email this morning. I think its more of a reassurance from the company that we can continue to wear this range of hi-vis without worrying too much about any consequences from the police. Or maybe I have mis-read it. I have nothing to do with Equisafety, I am on their mailing list as I bought a couple of items from them when they first came out, in fact after reading about them on here. I only have the tabard and hat band, I wear a plain hi-vis jacket and navy excercise rug with the silver hi-vis banding (shires I think) I have never had any problems and dont intend to stop wearing it, as you all know it isnt cheap.
 
ghostie said:
If I were a company releasing an 'official statement' I wanted to reassure people with I would pay more attention to my grammar and typos. That is all.
Click to expand...

Sorry Ghostie, I have just read the statement again, are we reading the same thing? I dont post on here often, and thought this would be of interest to people, seems not. Wish I hadn't bothered now.
 
I think the whole thing is ridiculous. We are trying to protect our lives and that of our horses. The Polite range DOES slow down traffic, it DOES work.

I will continue to wear the items and in the event that the police ever bring out a ban I shall still continue to wear it. I think the police have better things to do than to stop riders on the roads and report them for 'inpersonating a police officer'.
 
Who is the new ACPO leader?
I personally choose to wear normal bright florescent anyway, albeit it either bright pink (and yes that does slow drivers down because of the "WHOA, pink??" factor) or yellow.
I don't think the Polite range will work forever anyway, as you can only fool drivers so many times..
 
Is anybody struck by how the Polite range looks more police-like than the actual official Police tabards!

And I agree with Applecart, its a nice tabard and it certainly works for me so I will keep wearing unless its banned/
 
Rider Lizzie, Ah right, I hadn't realised, I do actually lurk on here all the time and never picked up they werent that popular, ah well.... thats what being an old lady is about lol. I could never be accused of impersonating a Police officer, I ride an 18yo 15hh Welsh D and will never see my fifties again <chuckling> and like I said, I will continue to wear it, am not sure it works any better than other hi-vis but it does definitely work.
 
As I posted on the other thread on another forum I have seen a scanned copy of the document given to an Equestrian retailer, it has the officers name and badge number on it and is specifically titled "Police guidance to manufacturers and retailers of equine clothing that closely resembles police uniform". The guidance almost certainly relates to the Polite / Chequered range.

Personally I have a Polite tabard and I even kept the packaging which at the time stated "Police approved" and based on what I have read in black and white from the Police I will not be wearing it anymore unless Equisafety provide something concrete that it is legal.

Given the fact that mine has the packaging stating "Police approved" I am seriously thinking that unless proof is provided that I can continue wearing it then I should be entitled to a refund / exchange.

The difference in stance between V-Bandz and Equisafety is astounding, one removing their product from sale and the other saying it is fine....
 
lilacjackie said:
Sorry Ghostie, I have just read the statement again, are we reading the same thing? I dont post on here often, and thought this would be of interest to people, seems not. Wish I hadn't bothered now.
Click to expand...

Don't worry, previous posters who tried with the best intentions to alert forum members to this issue were flamed :rolleyes: I doubt any of the doubters will apologise to them :(

shellonabeach said:
The difference in stance between V-Bandz and Equisafety is astounding, one removing their product from sale and the other saying it is fine....
Click to expand...

It's quite something isn't it?? It would be worthy of inclusion in a marketing course :D
 
I have just emailed my local police force (Lothian & Borders) for clarification on the matter within this area. If they say it's ok, I will print out and carry the email with me at all times I'm wearing it. If they say not ok, well it's going in the bin which is a great pity as it really does work!! Maybe this is what everyone should do and then there is no more hearsay and various interpretations!
 
They do not need to have POLITE on the back of these hi visibility jackets, that is the main concern here, if they changed it to CAUTION or PASS WIDE AND SLOW they would not be having this discussion with the police. The company have not done themsekves any favours with that letter lol, typos, grammer errors...bad!
 
One thing I just noticed is that in the picture on the email. The police have a rad and white band. Not blue and white like the polite range. The polite range also has a lot more words than the police wording. I love the polite range and if a rider wants to buy this brand of safety wear they should. So really a stripper with a police uniform, is breaking the law more than the polite range. Because they look more like a police officer.

Also how often do u see a mounted police officer wounding down country roads on there own or with someone with out a police uniform on. Also our kind of horses also give it away. Think it is very silly how against people are to the range.
 
Last edited:
applecart14 said:
I think the whole thing is ridiculous. We are trying to protect our lives and that of our horses. The Polite range DOES slow down traffic, it DOES work.

I will continue to wear the items and in the event that the police ever bring out a ban I shall still continue to wear it. I think the police have better things to do than to stop riders on the roads and report them for 'inpersonating a police officer'.
Click to expand...


^^^^^ This ^^^^^

Nowhere have I read that officers have been told to 'caution' riders.

Until a court makes a decision on the 'legality' of the range, no one can make anyone stop wearing it. They can offer 'words of advice' but not a formal caution, as formal cautions require an admission of guilt, and no one is going to formally admit to something that hasn't actually been held to be an offence! Of course, Impersonating a Police Officer is an offence, but not one rider is doing that - they are simply trying to be conscious of road safety. Each incident is dealt with on it's own merits. If anyone was actually, ridiculously, taken to court for IaPO whilst wearing this range, I'd be interested to see the outcome. I would imagine an outcry and criticism from the press et al for an utter waste of public funds.
 
I too recived the email , and replied asking to be removed. I will not support a company that feels it can flout the law and with her stinking attitude she won't get any support from me.

As the the poster who stated they will wear it even if its banned, get a grip you too are not above the law and there are many other high viz items out there.
 
peteralfred said:
what was the official statement please (blocked at work).
Click to expand...

It came with their header on it and their email address.....


POLITE Range

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Dear Customer,

With reference to the recent Police directive we would like to apologise for any confusion that their communication may have caused.

The POLITE range was only manufactured after this positive response by Association of Chief Police Officer (ACPO) Lead of Mounted Policing, Commander Robert Broadhurst from the Metropolitan Police who stated the following;

&#8220;Provided there is no deliberate attempt to impersonate Police there us very little we can do other than perhaps ask them to ensure the word looks more like polite than police. Assuming they have no items of police uniform it is unlikely the public will mistake them for us but if they do it will just be another High Visibility Patrol which should add to the reassurance picture.

The law regarding this is so ambiguous as to be confusing, otherwise the new ACPO lead for the Mounted Police would not have had to interpret the law and issue &#8216;new&#8217; guide lines, which are at best unclear and perhaps even more confusing than ever.

The implementation of the &#8216;new&#8217; guidelines is also quite irresponsible and could certainly cause riders to remove their &#8216;Hi-Visibilty&#8217; clothing if approached by an officer and we are also completely astounded by it.

In particular we would draw your attention to the Crime Prosecution Service (CPS) which states the following; http://www.cps.gov.uk/index.html

Impersonating a Police Officer.

Section 90 Police Act 1996 creates several offences to the Impersonation of Police Officers or the possession of articles of Police uniform, namely:

Impersonating a Police Officer (including a special constable)
Making a statement or doing any act calculated falsely to suggest membership of a Police Force
Wearing a Police uniform calculated to deceive
Possessing an article of Police uniform
The circumstances of the case may disclose more than one of these offences, it will seldom be necessary to charge more than one offence. You should select the most appropriate.

You should consider the motive of the defendant where the impersonation involves a threat to the safety of any person, or to property, or is done with a view to financial gain, then a prosecution should follow.




A PHOTOGRAPH SENT BY ACC HANSEN TO EQUISAFETY SHOWING WHAT A MOUNTED POLICE OFFICER LOOKS LIKE.

We are not aware of a single criminal act of intent to impersonate a Police Officer in the past 3 years of selling the POLITE range.

Consider this Scenario -
Rider cautioned whilst out hacking,
Result -
Rider removes HighVisibility safety apparel
Conclusion
Rider is now at a higher risk of a road traffic accident.

We suggest if approached by a Police Officer you explain why you need HighVisibility clothing and ask what crime they think you intend to commit.

We categorically do not recommend you remove your HighVisibility products whilst on a public highway.

As there have been no reported incidents of crime related to wearing Hi-Visibility clothing we have no idea why the new ACPO leader is directing officers to caution innocent members of the public?

We would welcome any definitive solution to this issue as long as it included proper, considered communication which responsibly deals with the &#8216;real issue&#8217; of road safety and delivers comfort to the general public whilst satisfying the&#8217; true&#8217; intent of the legislation which is of course, tackling crime.

Equisafety has always been committed to high visibility road safety and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the massive support we have received so far. We can assure you that we will be seeking a more responsible approach from the Police via the relevant authorities.

Nicola Fletcher MA
Managing Director of Equisafey Ltd
 
applecart14 said:
I think the whole thing is ridiculous. We are trying to protect our lives and that of our horses. The Polite range DOES slow down traffic, it DOES work.

I will continue to wear the items and in the event that the police ever bring out a ban I shall still continue to wear it. I think the police have better things to do than to stop riders on the roads and report them for 'inpersonating a police officer'.
Click to expand...

If the police do ban you wearing them, and you have an accident causing damage to yourself/horse/other road users I would be interested to see what your position would be with the insurance companies.
 
applecart14 said:
I think the whole thing is ridiculous. We are trying to protect our lives and that of our horses. The Polite range DOES slow down traffic, it DOES work.

I will continue to wear the items and in the event that the police ever bring out a ban I shall still continue to wear it.
Click to expand...

But does the fake police hi viz work better than normal hi viz ? I haven't noticed a difference when, wearing my normal plain hi viz and when riding with someone wearing a Polite tabard.
If motorists can see you, they avoid the possibility of having an RTA.
The motorway breakdown guys wear normal hi viz and they are doing an extremely dangerous job on the hard shoulder in all weather conditions. If its good enough for them...
 
The Police, as an organisation, have no powers to ban anyone from wearing anything. There are ways and means to imposing 'conditions' on individuals, but not a blanket ban. For the Equisafety range to be deemed 'illegal', legislation is required, which means passing new laws, which is something that is done by parliament, not The Police. I think parliament probably has a lot more pressing issues than Equestrian Hi-Viz. The only possible offence is IaPO, where each and every 'offender' would have to be dealt with separately. As I said before, it would make for some very interesting court cases, but I very much doubt CPS would give it the time of day. That is, of course, presuming there is a police officer out there who could actually be arsed to start the ball rolling in the first place, especially after his sergeant tells him not to be such a prat. Which, as it stands at the moment, is the most likely scenario.
 
Most worrying part-

"We suggest if approached by a Police Officer you explain why you need HighVisibility clothing and ask what crime they think you intend to commit"

Yep id love to p!ss off a police officer with starting with that opening statement!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top