A police department is bringing back traditional hats to boost officers’ authority.
In recent years, baseball hats with no discernible gender have replaced the caretaker helmet.
Now, all officers in Lancashire Police will no longer wear the headgear seen in the photo.
For women, the police is spending £40,000 on bowlers, and for men, white flat caps.
“This move is about strengthening the figures of authority police officers should be in our communities,” said Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden.
Chief Constable Chris Rowley acknowledged yesterday that many cops detested the caps: ‘Officers who dislike wearing baseball hats have brought up this matter with me repeatedly for more than a year, and I’ve always considered that conventional headgear is wiser and offers a more professional impression to the public.
I make it known that I have high expectations to everyone of my team, even new hires and officers with greater experience. When they are working, I want them to be intelligent and to provide our communities with high-quality services.
All male police will get traditional flat caps, while female officers will have the option of wearing bowlers that have Lancashire Constabulary insignia.
Many of the cops who kept their previous hats have already begun donning them while walking down the street.
The force is the most recent to ban baseball hats, which some critics have compared to a “Burger King” uniform because they made officers “look like Jimmy Krankie.”
Research indicated that the new headgear would eliminate the problem of transgender police having to choose between custodian helmets for men and bowler hats for women, thus Northamptonshire Police spent more than £23,000 to adopt baseball caps.
However, Chief Constable Nick Adderley said they “did not project the correct image” two years later.
Though not everyone has been thrilled with the Lancashire Police news.
Phil Riley, the head of Blackburn with Darwen Council, told his local newspaper: “It seems like a strange thing to do.
I fail to see how it would address the concerns the public has with police.
‘It seems like a strange use of £40,000. There must be more effective ways to use it.