Throughout history, the bobby on the beat has dressed to convey a certain image to the public. Early Victorian police worked seven days a week, and their lives were strictly controlled.  To reduce the public’s suspicion of being spied on, officers were required to wear their uniforms both on and off duty.

Boys in blue

The first uniform (which was a lighter blue than today’s) was a high-collared, swallow-tailed coat with a leather stock worn inside the high collar to protect the officer against strangulation. White trousers were worn in summer until 1861, and were not standard issue but were bought by the officers themselves. 


The sleeves of the dark blue coats originally had a pattern of white bars to distinguish them from naval or maritime personnel. Wellington boots were the footwear of choice.

The headgear was a hardened top hat, often called a “stovepipe” or “chimney pot hat”. It served the dual purpose of protecting the officer from blows to the head and allowing him to use it as a step to see over walls!

The Peelers were issued with a wooden truncheon carried in a long pocket in the tail of their coat, a pair of handcuffs and a wooden rattle to raise the alarm, which was replaced by a whistle in the 1880s.

Causing a stir

Even though this uniform was similar to the dress of a Victorian gentleman, these first police officers caused quite a stir when they first appeared because nothing like them had been seen patrolling the streets of London before. 

It was hoped that this style of non-military uniform, although not far removed from the uniform of the previous Bow Street Runners, would deter critics from comparing the new policemen to soldiers. In the opinion of the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, these new police looked very “respectable”.


One of these new police officers was a Constable Cavanagh. In his memoirs he described the first time he put on his new blue uniform:


“When I looked at myself in the glass with the uniform on for the first time, I wondered what could have led me to take the final step of becoming a “Peeler”. I had to put on a swallow tail coat, and a rabbit-skin high top hat, covered with leather, weighing eighteen ounces; a pair of Wellington boots, the leather of which must have been at least a sixteenth of an inch thick, and a belt about four inches broad, with a great buckle some six inches deep.

“My hat was slipping all over my head; my boots which were two sizes too large, were rubbing the skin off my heels; and the stock was a thick leather one, and four inches deep; was nearly choking me. I would have given all I possessed to have got back into my ordinary clothes”.

During the 1860s the Metropolitan Police replaced the old-style swallowcoat with a new eight-buttoned coat and a cock’s comb helmet replaced the top hat. The cock’s comb helmet was then replaced in 1870 with the six-panelled helmet, a similar version to that still in use in 2003.

Today's uniform

Although there are small differences in the styling of uniforms in Britain today, they are all very similar. In general, changes appear in the Metropolitan Police first. Normal working police uniform today consists of:

• Shirt (with tie or cravat) and trousers, worn with or without a jersey or a fleece.
  
  

• Some forces use combat trousers and boots.
  
  

• Female officers normally wear trousers and officers often wear reflective waterproof jackets. Most officers now wear body armour when on duty.
  
  

• Basic headgear is a peaked cap or custodian helmet for men, and a round bowler-style hat for women.
  
  

• On foot duty, male constables and sergeants wear the familiar conical custodian helmet. There are several patterns, with different forces wearing different types.

The uniform of police officers has been found to have a profound psychological impact on those who view it. Research has suggested that even slight alterations to the style of the uniforms will change how citizens perceive the officer. 

This may be why attempts to modernise police uniforms, like the proposed change in headgear to baseball caps, were not successful, despite trials in some parts of the country in 2002.