NORTHUMBRIA Police officers’ concerns over the quality of their trousers have finally been heeded with new garments now being distributed among the region’s cops. The articles had been branded uncomfortable by officers and had even caused health problems, according to the force’s top boss.
The soon-to-return chief constable of Northumbria Police Vanessa Jardine has and will continue to oversee major changes to the region’s policing following her re-appointment to the role earlier this week. Such moves include the implementation of major technological changes by February with new policing software and the maintenance of neighbourhood policing amid long-standing protests and community tensions.
Chief constable Jardine also oversaw the doubling of the police’s regional command areas from three to six. A restructuring which the officer of more than 31-years said “fundamentally changed” how the force operates.
Now, a “major change” in officers’ uniforms is underway, following complaints the force’s trousers were no longer “fit for purpose”.
The returning chief constable said: “If you asked my staff and officers today, a very simple thing they would say is we changed the trousers, which you may smile at. But officers said to me at the very beginning these trousers are not fit for purpose, they’re uncomfortable, they’re causing us some health problems.
“Officers on the ground would say that’s a major change, and they all got delivered last week. They would say that’s a major change, which hopefully because they have chosen them, would be hugely successful.”
The uniform update was explained as part of Ms Jardine’s re-appointment process by councillors from across the Northumbria Policing area, including Durham, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Northumberland, Sunderland, and Gateshead.
Chief constable Jardine, who first joined the police back in 1994, will return to her post on October 22 as part of a national retire and rehire scheme. The scheme is designed to retain skills, knowledge and experience within the police and remove financial disincentives officers face when they achieve 30 years’ service.
