Strathclyde Police Marine Policing Unit". Strathclyde.police.uk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007 . Retrieved 8 May 2009. I am intrigued to learn that the 1863 pattern was called the ‘Custodian’. I have believed for some time that ‘Custodian’ is a Christy’s Trade Mark model name from around the early 1980s (maybe a bit earlier), that became the pretty much universal police ‘insider’ term for the helmets over the last 40 years just because it was by far the most common type. Therefore not really applicable to nineteenth-century helmets, and certainly not for similar helmets used in other countries. I have done quite a bit of original research in this area, and I have never seen the name Custodian appear in nineteenth or early twentieth century sources. However, I may be wrong! If there is some evidence that it was the official (or unofficial) term for the British police helmets earlier than the 1970s this I’d genuinely love to know about it.

Various items of equipment are usually carried on the duty belt of uniformed officers, although some have pouches attached to their stab vest, eliminating the need for a belt. Plainclothes officers may wear a harness, which can be worn under clothes. They usually have: Officers may carry either a CS or PAVA (also known as Captor) incapacitant spray. Their effects are designed to be short-lived and exposure to fresh moving air will normally result in a significant recovery within 15–20 minutes. The CS spray issued by UK police services contains a 5% solution of CS whilst Captor sprays contain a 0.3% solution of PAVA. PAVA is significantly more potent than CS. [30]As of September 2021, Essex Police no longer restricts any force-issue headwear by gender. Any new officer recruited since may choose between a custodian helmet or bowler hat, plus an additional peaked cap. [21] Identification [ edit ] It is important to note, however, that by the 1850s and through the 1860s British hatters Ellwood & Sons were producing sun helmets for the Indian Military, Administration and public (figs., 1, 3, 4, 14, 15 & 18), these had been developed from traditional rural Bengali sun helmets. So very similar, and at the time ‘modern’ designs, using the same materials and construction techniques as subsequently used in the Custodian, were already being produced in Britain. And in fact Ellwood & Sons, the patent holders of the ‘Air Chamber Helmet’ launched legal proceedings against Christys in June 1864, whilst the Custodian was being trialed. Perhaps implying they considered the Custodian a close enough copy of their Air Chamber sun helmet to warrant action. This raises the possibility that there was no input to the original Custodian’s design from traditional European military helmets. This essay will be about general origins and will not attempt to enter the twentieth century or follow the complexities of badges, finials and other ornamentation.

The custodian helmet is the headgear traditionally worn by male police constables and sergeants while on foot patrol in England and Wales. [3] Officers of all ranks in most forces are also issued a flat, peaked cap that is worn on mobile patrol in a vehicle. Ranks above sergeant wear the peaked cap only. However, some inspectors wear the custodian helmet, but with two silver bands around the base (to match the two pips worn as rank insignia) to denote their position. [4] Until the mid-1990s, most police forces utilised a 14inch long traditional wooden truncheon. On 20 June 1994, Home Secretary Michael Howard authorised the use of batons. Long, rigid American-style batons were then introduced, first by the Metropolitan Police and then by other forces, but in many places these were short lived, mainly due to their being unwieldy in most operational circumstances. [ citation needed]

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Figure 13. The Indo-British family of light-weight ‘service’ Helmets and the dragoon helmet. Left, a lightweight ventilated Ellwood ‘Air Chamber’ sun helmet, unofficially called the ‘Air Pipe’, patented in 1851, probably the inspiration for Christys’ when they developed the first Custodian pattern 1863. Left Center, a British dragoon helmet shape in existence from at least 1842 (although this is an 1847 model), probably inspired the ornamentation on the Christys’ alternative style ‘bell’ shaped Custodian introduced around 1875. Center Right, an example of Christys’ 1875 alternative bell shaped Custodian police helmet. The company themselves have said it was based on the Home Service Helmet; Right, the Home Service Helmet, officially adopted in 1878, but versions had been unofficially in use and trialed for many years, perhaps explaining the miss-match in design/adoption dates stated for the ‘Custodian’ and ‘Home Service Helmet’. Their appearance, however, can probably be seen as coeval, with the police simply being offered the new military pattern as an alternative to the coxcomb.