HIGH VIS POLICING
Another public event and another senior officer insisting officers wear a high visibility tabard over the top of the body armour. Officers were Policing a certain family event in the region this week and the weather was HOT, HUMID, STICKY and generally unsuitable for the wearing of body armour let alone another unnecessary layer of clothing.
Why do the SMT insist we wear a bloody high vis tabard in broad daylight, away from traffic and any other kind of danger of being injured by someone who may not see us?
As per usual there were other official organisations present, ambulance, civilian marshals, SIA security etc etc, all of whom were wearing high vis tabards. So the only thing separating us from them was the hat, because the tabard was covering the unique bits of what is a police uniform.
To top things off the senior officer was happy to sit in an air conditioned vehicle with no body armour and no tabard, as usual leading by example.
When will we stop this high vis idiocy? they may as well change the uniform to a high vis uniform.
August 12, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Hey lol, you weren’t at the ‘Beached event’ were you? http://www.beached.net/
August 13, 2007 at 2:00 am
Yeah,
the hiz viz thing has gone on long enough. A few years ago, I remember policing a high profile event, just as was mentioned, hot and sticky. not pleasant for those wearing bright yellow tops over our body armour.
That was a direct order from the bosses.
Not long after the event began, up comes along a member of the SMT, no hix viz jacket on I might add.
Yes, we were all suitably impressed.
August 13, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Southwest mate, you been tagged. What would you do if you were Commissioner for the day? GND you been tagged too. Same question.
August 13, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Hi viz saturdays have started again now that the seaon of footy madness has started.
Another claim of health & safety but in reality we are more easily seen and therefore there must be more of us. You’ll get hi-vis body armour before its gone.
August 14, 2007 at 10:17 am
Sssshhhh don’t say that. The Spanish Police uniform is high viz on the top half.
August 14, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I’ve only got the winter heavy high-viz jacket. Coupled with body armour it’s like walking around wearing a large oven. It also makes me look 10 stone heavier.
Still, there’s no way anyone can miss me.
August 15, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I only want my troops to wear the High Vis on fast roads at accidents or stop-checks.
August 15, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Sir, thats because you’re logical and humane! Anyone else get forced to wear high viz after the latest terror attacks because it ‘created a hostile environment for terrorists’? I’m sure the sight of little me in my yellow jacket had all those would be terrorists quaking in their boots. Some other bright spark in an air con office somewhere also decided to put pandas parked up in the middle of round abouts to provide public reassurance, what a joke, you’ve never seen so much rubber necking with people trying to see where and how the car had lost control!!!
August 15, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Aahhhh! That’s where it’s all come from. As the name suggests, been there, done it…blah, blah, blah, but now work in the twilight zone of ex-cops dealing with various “issues” requiring a bit of enforcement – latest requirement is for enforcement types engaged on a potentially large operation at a provincial airport to wear hi-viz coats or tabards, plus “to-tectors” – this in a protected and secure area checking taxis (ooops, almost gave the game away there!). When my lot demurred, we wuz accused of not providing adequate protective gear (or being too tight!)
Cheeky ble*ders – I couldn’t force my lot to wear hi-viz at the end of a shooter!
August 15, 2007 at 10:17 pm
I have questioned the need to wear ‘high viz’ jackets on stinking hot summer days when walking around a field at a community event. The silver commander gave me a perfectly valid reason. Do you want to hear it?
October 30, 2009 at 12:40 am
Haha. Never thought about that but your right. Who wants to be wearning another layer in boiling temperatures.
August 17, 2007 at 4:51 pm
yes please.
August 19, 2007 at 2:23 am
Good old hi viz, the non thinkers answer to health and safety. When working as a motorcycle instructor I was told by a DVLC official to where a tabard in a classroom, to promote visibility!
August 19, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Before the days of ‘Hi Viz’ it used to be quite nice walking round industrial estates in the dark and hopefully if you were walking quietly you might actually see the bad guys before they knew you were there. With a bright yellow jacket there is no hope of standing in the shadows to watch and listen.
August 20, 2007 at 7:29 pm
GTBRC
Not much chance of us hiding in doorways ready to jump out on some unsuspecting crim these days.
Not only are we forced to wear high vis but sadly the days of officers on foot appears to have all but gone. Thankfully there are still a few of us left who enjoy to get out amongst it, but most are car bound, some because they choose to.
August 24, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Well I think you are all super heroes!
With that in mind you should wear your underpants over your trousers!