Police swap helmets for baseball caps to woo transgender recruits
A POLICE force abandoned traditional helmets yesterday in favour of ‘gender neutral’ baseball caps.
Northamptonshire Police said the move is cheaper, safer and more comfortable for its 1,200 frontline officers.
It added that the unisex Europeanstyle hats are also more acceptable to potential recruits from the ‘nonbinary transgender community’.
The force followed in the footsteps of several others that have done away with the traditional custodianstyle helmets adopted more than 150 years ago.
Officers in Cheshire, Lancashire and West Yorkshire have already changed headgear but Thames Valley Police is considering reintroducing them after a public outcry.
Critics have questioned the ‘casual look’ and claim the professional image of the police risks being sacrificed to save money. One officer said: ‘They look like staff at a drive- through McDonald’s. What will they wear to ceremonial or formal occasions?’
Northamptonshire Chief Constable Simon Edens said he is responding to research showing that male officers prefer traditional flat police caps to helmets, even though the caps offer no protection.
A force spokesman said there are also concerns that men and women are issued with different headgear of ‘varying safety ratings’ on the basis of their gender. In addition, Northamptonshire is doing away with the ‘bowler hats’ worn by policewomen.
The force yesterday began issuing officers with ‘ bump caps’, which are baseball caps with a reinforced internal frame. By next month, they will be worn by all officers. The caps are already used by some specialist units.
In a statement, the force said the caps are ‘lighter and more comfortable’ as well as ‘significantly cheaper than traditional hats’. It added: ‘Further engagement has also shown that having to choose gender-based headgear is a barrier to the nonbinary transgender community joining the police service.
‘By introducing this new hat we provide a single protective hat to all police officers, special constables and police community support officers for general duties.’ A force spokesman said the number of ‘ non- binary transgender’ officers in the force is not known.
The custodian helmet, which replaced the top hat formerly in use, was first used by the Metropolitan Police in 1863.
Originally made of cork and covered with felt, it was based on a spiked helmet worn by the Prussian army. It was later updated with plastic materials.
The helmet is instantly recognisable worldwide.
But some officers believe it is ‘completely impracticable’ for modern policing because it is cumbersome and falls off when they are running.