Name/Title
Sussex Police fleece jacket c2010Entry/Object ID
2451Description
Black synthetic fleece jacket with black cotton lower arm patches, black cotton pen pockets on each upper arm, cotton epaulette loops, knitted cuffs, fixed airwave radio clips under each shoulder, and a front zip fastening. There is also a blue and white reflective checkered strip across the front and rear. Over the left breast is a small blue reflective patch with "Police" in white lettering and a similar but much larger patch on the rear. Over the right breast is a velcro patch and at the front are two reverse opening waist pockets with zip fastenings. Inside are labels marked "Gore Windstopper Tornado S.Yaffy Ltd" with additional care instructions, one with washing instructions, and another marked "Police Fleece Jacket X/Tall Medium".Use
For a police officer to wear as an outer garment.Context
In September 2006 Sussex Police began to issue fleece jackets such as this, instead of pullovers (Patrol September 2006). These jackets were of a generic national style without Sussex Police badges and were part of an on going attempt to save money on the clothing budget. They had Velcro patches on the right so that additional badges could be fixed, which would identify either a specialist unit or territorial area to which an officer was attached to. These jackets were supposed to be worn over stab vests but often officers worn them underneath. There was debate as to how warm they were and in time micro fleeces were also issued that could be worn under a stab vest, to improve warmth in the winter. The jackets have an interesting arrangement with the front pockets, where the zip opening is on the opposite side to what you would normally expect. By all accounts this was to prevent officers from walking with their hands in them, but it meant that they were difficult to get things in an out of.
To begin with these fleeces were worn alongside the pullovers that they were replacing but eventually the pullovers were withdrawn altogether.
These jackets continued to be issued with the advent of the new style uniform in 2010, consisting of black polo shirt and cargo type trousers. However they were not water resistant and they were eventually replaced with a shell type jacket of a similar design that was more suited to wet weather.
This particular jacket was used by an officer at Lewes Police station in the 2010s