Police chiefs considering name badges for uniformed officers
OFFICERS IN Yorkshire’s biggest police force could be told to wear name badges on duty so they can be identified more easily by members of the public.
West Yorkshire Police is considering a scheme for its more than 4,000 officers which could see their name and rank printed on a cloth badge.
Currently, non-warranted police staff wear identity cards showing their name and photograph while working in police buildings, but constables, sergeants and police community support officers are identifiable only by their collar numbers.
Details of the scheme emerged in minutes of a meeting of the force’s Chief Officer Team in May. The force told
it was too soon to say how much it would cost and whether a full name or just the first name would be displayed.
A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Police said: “There is currently no mandatory requirement for police staff to wear name badges. However, all police constables, sergeants and police community support officers have collar numbers on display so are currently identifiable.
“The force is currently consulting on the use of name badges which would help to ensure that all officers and staff are easily identifiable by name to members of the public.”
West Yorkshire Police is not the first force in the country to consider such a move. In 2010, Greater Manchester Police’s officers were told they must display magnetic badges. North Yorkshire Police already have their officers wear name badges, but South Yorkshire Police do not.
Amanda Carter, a Leeds city councillor and Conservative group member of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel, said she understood the need for “enhanced community relations”, bur called for “a stronger focus on fighting crime”.
She said: “Total recorded crime is up by 18 per cent in West Yorkshire and detection rates are also low – these proposals are fine but fighting crime should be the force’s number one priority.”