Sussex Police PSU officer's blouson jacket c2010

Clothing/Dress/Costume

Old Police Cells Museum Brighton

Name/Title

Sussex Police PSU officer's blouson jacket c2010

Entry/Object ID

2461

Description

Blue nylon and Goretex blouson jacket with 5 popper buttons to the front, an elasticated waist and two breast pockets. Over the right pocket is a square shaped badge of a star topped with a crown marked "Sussex Police" with a coat of arms centre, and on the pocket flap is a rectangular badge marked "Police". There is a removable quilted liner and an internal zip fastening to the front. There are sleeves on each shoulder to attach epaulettes and two chest tabs for attaching a radio microphone. Attached to each of these by way of a leather and press stud fastening is an Airwave radio clip. Inside is a fabric label marked "Dewhirst" and a sizing/washing instruction fabric label marked "Dewhirst (Uniforms) Ltd" and "PSUSSUB2 SS" followed by care instructions. On the outside waistband is a small label marked "Gore-Tex R". On Rear of label is written in ink "PC Goudie CG701"

Use

For a Sussex Police PSU officer to wear.

Context

The type of jacket pictured was introduced in the mid 1990s for Public Support Unit officers in Sussex Police, they were not issued to all uniform officers, only those that received enhanced public support training. It is a later example because it has tabs on the chest for radio microphones and epaulette sleeves on the shoulders and a square shaped "Sussex Police" badge, the earlier ones have a bell shaped badge. The presence of the airwave radio clips shows that it dates from when these radios were issued but not from when the clips were actually permanently fixed to the garment, as they are now. The museum also has an earlier version of a similar PSU jacket without epaulette sleeves or radio tabs, but with the bell shaped Sussex Police badge and a warrant number embroidered onto the breast pocket flat instead of "Police" (item 2023). The label inside the jacket has a handwritten mark "PC Goodie CG701" showing that it was issued to PC DG701 Darren Goudie who was many years stationed at Lewes Police station until 2022.